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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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Word bank
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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: chip · chair · wake · fork · craft · rule

  1. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  2. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  3. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  4. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  5. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  6. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  7. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  8. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  9. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  10. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  11. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  12. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  13. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  14. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  15. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  16. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  17. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  18. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.

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

Answer key

  1. chair — a leader
  2. fork — a garden tool
  3. chair — to sit on
  4. rule — to rule out
  5. rule — government
  6. fork — to eat with
  7. craft — a skill
  8. wake — to stop sleeping
  9. craft — a handicraft
  10. wake — before a funeral
  11. chair — a professorship
  12. fork — in a road
  13. craft — boats
  14. wake — a trail
  15. chip — in a computer
  16. chip — for betting
  17. chip — to eat
  18. rule — a law

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