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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. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  2. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  3. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  4. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  5. That was a fun ________________.
  6. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  7. The water is too ________________.
  8. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  9. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  10. Have you met the new head ________________?
  11. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  12. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  13. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  14. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  15. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  16. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  17. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  18. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  19. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  20. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  21. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  22. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  23. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  24. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.

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

Answer key

  1. fork — a garden tool
  2. rock — music
  3. rock — to move gently
  4. chip — in a computer
  5. game — a match
  6. drill — a practice
  7. cold — not warm
  8. current — electric
  9. chip — for betting
  10. coach — a trainer
  11. fork — to eat with
  12. cold — the Cold War
  13. drill — the tool
  14. chip — to eat
  15. current — happening now
  16. rock — a stone
  17. cold — an illness
  18. coach — a trainer
  19. game — a kind of play
  20. current — of water
  21. drill — army training
  22. game — wild animals
  23. coach — pulled by horses
  24. fork — in a road

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