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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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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 · bat · nail · squash · row · fork

  1. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  2. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  3. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  4. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  5. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  6. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  7. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  8. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  9. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  10. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  11. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  12. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  13. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  14. The ________________ went through the wall.
  15. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  16. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  17. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  18. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.

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

Answer key

  1. fork — to eat with
  2. chip — for betting
  3. nail — on a finger
  4. row — a quarrel
  5. fork — in a road
  6. fork — a garden tool
  7. chip — in a computer
  8. squash — the vegetable
  9. row — to paddle
  10. chip — to eat
  11. bat — for baseball
  12. squash — to crush
  13. row — a line
  14. nail — for a hammer
  15. bat — in an idiom
  16. bat — the animal
  17. squash — the sport
  18. nail — for a hammer

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