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Multiple-Meaning Words

A multiple-meaning word is spelled and said the same way but means different things: a bat flies at night, and you hit a ball with a bat. Context is the only clue, which is why these words are such good reading practice.

Here are 124 multiple-meaning words from past ClueBy puzzles, each with a real example sentence for every meaning. Use them as a reference, or make a printable worksheet below.

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Students read each sentence and write the missing word. Every word appears in several sentences, each time with a different meaning.

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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  2. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  3. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  4. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  5. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  6. When are we going to ________________?
  7. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  8. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  9. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  10. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  11. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  12. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  13. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  14. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  15. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  16. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  17. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  18. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  19. The ball is in your ________________.
  20. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  21. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  22. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  23. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  24. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com

Answer key

  1. chip — in a computer
  2. bat — the animal
  3. fork — a garden tool
  4. pound — for dogs
  5. jam — to spread on bread
  6. land — to come down
  7. chip — for betting
  8. court — of law
  9. chip — to eat
  10. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  11. pound — to hit hard
  12. kid — to tease
  13. bat — for baseball
  14. fork — in a road
  15. bat — in an idiom
  16. jam — a tight spot
  17. kid — child
  18. jam — in traffic
  19. court — for sport
  20. fork — to eat with
  21. land — ground
  22. pound — a weight
  23. court — of a king
  24. land — a country

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

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Frequently asked questions

What are multiple-meaning words?

Words with the same spelling and pronunciation but more than one meaning, like bark (of a dog or of a tree) or bank (for money or of a river). You can only tell which meaning is meant from the rest of the sentence.

Are multiple-meaning words the same as homonyms?

Mostly, yes. Teachers often use "multiple-meaning words" and "homonyms" for the same idea. Homophones are different: they sound alike but are spelled differently, like flour and flower.

Are the worksheets free?

Yes. Make and print as many as you like for home or classroom use. Each sheet has its own link, so you can print the same one again.

Where do the words come from?

From past ClueBy puzzles, a daily game where you sort twelve sentences by their missing word. A new puzzle every day adds four more words to this list.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com