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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. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  2. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  3. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  4. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  5. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  6. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  7. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  8. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  9. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  10. David sat on the ________________.
  11. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  12. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  13. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  14. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  15. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  16. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  17. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  18. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  19. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  20. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  21. What do you think of the new ________________?
  22. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  23. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  24. That was a fun ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. race — a contest
  2. chip — to eat
  3. game — a kind of play
  4. file — a line of people
  5. swing — in golf
  6. file — a document
  7. fork — in a road
  8. mine — belonging to me
  9. race — the arms race
  10. swing — to play on
  11. mine — for digging
  12. mine — an explosive
  13. race — humankind
  14. cabinet — a cupboard
  15. fork — to eat with
  16. swing — music
  17. game — wild animals
  18. fork — a garden tool
  19. file — a tool
  20. chip — in a computer
  21. cabinet — ministers
  22. cabinet — ministers
  23. chip — for betting
  24. game — a match

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