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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 120 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: kid · fork · chip · pound · shower · cue · present · stock

  1. The ________________ market has crashed.
  2. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  3. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  4. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  5. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  6. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  7. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  8. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  9. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  10. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  11. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  12. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  13. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  14. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  15. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  16. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  17. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  18. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  19. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  20. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  21. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  22. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  23. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  24. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.

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

Answer key

  1. stock — shares
  2. present — a gift
  3. stock — a soup base
  4. chip — to eat
  5. cue — a hint
  6. fork — in a road
  7. present — the time now
  8. present — there
  9. pound — a weight
  10. pound — to hit hard
  11. fork — to eat with
  12. pound — for dogs
  13. shower — to wash
  14. shower — a meteor shower
  15. chip — in a computer
  16. cue — for pool
  17. chip — for betting
  18. kid — child
  19. stock — goods
  20. fork — a garden tool
  21. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  22. shower — rain
  23. kid — to tease
  24. cue — a signal

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