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

Word bank: chair · bark · chip · mine · fork · mate · march · ruler

  1. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  2. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  3. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  4. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  5. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  6. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  7. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  8. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  9. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  10. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  11. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  12. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  13. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  14. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  15. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  16. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  17. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  18. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  19. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  20. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  21. Have you found your soul ________________?
  22. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  23. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  24. He was blown up by a land ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. fork — in a road
  2. chair — a leader
  3. ruler — for measuring
  4. mine — for digging
  5. mate — a friend
  6. mine — belonging to me
  7. march — music
  8. fork — a garden tool
  9. ruler — a monarch
  10. mate — to breed
  11. ruler — for measuring
  12. chair — a professorship
  13. chair — to sit on
  14. chip — to eat
  15. march — the month
  16. bark — to shout
  17. chip — in a computer
  18. march — the month
  19. bark — a dog's sound
  20. chip — for betting
  21. mate — a partner
  22. fork — to eat with
  23. bark — of a tree
  24. mine — an explosive

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