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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. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  2. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  3. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  4. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  5. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  6. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  7. He was locked up in a ________________.
  8. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  9. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  10. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  11. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  12. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  13. I'll be taking the ________________.
  14. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  15. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  16. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  17. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  18. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  19. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  20. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  21. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  22. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  23. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  24. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. fork — to eat with
  2. pit — a hole
  3. fan — a supporter
  4. fork — a garden tool
  5. fork — in a road
  6. hand — help
  7. cell — in a prison
  8. tube — in a tire
  9. hand — in cards
  10. chip — in a computer
  11. hand — part of the body
  12. cell — a phone
  13. tube — the underground
  14. chip — to eat
  15. fan — a supporter
  16. cell — in biology
  17. scale — in music
  18. pit — a fruit stone
  19. fan — to cool the air
  20. scale — for weighing
  21. tube — a container
  22. pit — in a race
  23. chip — for betting
  24. scale — size or range

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