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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: cue · file · cold · content · fork · chip · ball · saw

  1. The water is too ________________.
  2. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  3. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  4. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  5. She's very handy with a ________________.
  6. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  7. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  8. He works in a ________________ mill.
  9. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  10. The King held a masked ________________.
  11. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  12. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  13. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  14. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  15. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  16. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  17. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  18. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  19. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  20. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  21. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  22. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  23. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  24. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — not warm
  2. ball — a round shape
  3. cold — the Cold War
  4. cue — for pool
  5. saw — the tool
  6. chip — in a computer
  7. cold — an illness
  8. saw — the tool
  9. content — videos and posts
  10. ball — a dance
  11. content — happy
  12. cue — a hint
  13. fork — a garden tool
  14. saw — past of 'see'
  15. file — a tool
  16. fork — in a road
  17. cue — a signal
  18. ball — a great time
  19. content — the amount
  20. file — a document
  21. chip — for betting
  22. file — a line of people
  23. fork — to eat with
  24. chip — to eat

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