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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 116 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. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  2. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  3. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  4. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  5. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  6. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  7. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  8. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  9. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  10. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  11. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  12. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  13. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  14. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  15. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  16. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  17. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  18. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  19. The water is too ________________.
  20. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  21. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  22. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  23. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  24. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.

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

Answer key

  1. chip — for betting
  2. stem — to come from
  3. present — there
  4. lash — to lash out
  5. fork — to eat with
  6. cold — the Cold War
  7. present — the time now
  8. stem — a stem cell
  9. lash — an eyelash
  10. fork — in a road
  11. chip — in a computer
  12. file — a document
  13. file — a tool
  14. present — a gift
  15. file — a line of people
  16. lash — a whip stroke
  17. chip — to eat
  18. cold — an illness
  19. cold — not warm
  20. current — happening now
  21. stem — of a plant
  22. current — of water
  23. current — electric
  24. fork — a garden tool

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