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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. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  2. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  3. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  4. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  5. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  6. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  7. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  8. He was locked up in a ________________.
  9. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  10. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  11. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  12. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  13. Have you met the new head ________________?
  14. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  15. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  16. When are we going to ________________?
  17. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  18. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  19. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  20. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  21. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  22. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  23. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  24. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. fork — a garden tool
  2. chip — for betting
  3. chip — in a computer
  4. row — a line
  5. fall — to drop
  6. fall — the season
  7. coach — pulled by horses
  8. cell — in a prison
  9. row — a quarrel
  10. fall — to drop
  11. fork — in a road
  12. chip — to eat
  13. coach — a trainer
  14. pitch — a sales talk
  15. pitch — completely
  16. land — to come down
  17. coach — a trainer
  18. cell — a phone
  19. row — to paddle
  20. pitch — a sports field
  21. land — a country
  22. cell — in biology
  23. fork — to eat with
  24. land — ground

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