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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 120 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. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  2. How do you ________________ your surname?
  3. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  4. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  5. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  6. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  7. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  8. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  9. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  10. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  11. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  12. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  13. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  14. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  15. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  16. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  17. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  18. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  19. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  20. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  21. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  22. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  23. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  24. ________________ games are popular in Germany.

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

Answer key

  1. chip — to eat
  2. spell — letters
  3. lean — to bend
  4. board — to get on
  5. kid — child
  6. bat — in an idiom
  7. bat — for baseball
  8. bat — the animal
  9. fork — to eat with
  10. root — of a word
  11. fork — a garden tool
  12. spell — a short time
  13. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  14. fork — in a road
  15. root — of a plant
  16. lean — thin
  17. spell — magic
  18. board — a committee
  19. kid — to tease
  20. lean — to rest against
  21. chip — in a computer
  22. chip — for betting
  23. root — the cause
  24. board — a flat piece

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