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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 · coach · hand · lie · fork · court · nail · game

  1. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  2. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  3. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  4. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  5. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  6. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  7. The ball is in your ________________.
  8. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  9. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  10. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  11. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  12. Have you met the new head ________________?
  13. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  14. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  15. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  16. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  17. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  18. That was a fun ________________.
  19. The ________________ went through the wall.
  20. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  21. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  22. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  23. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  24. There's a computer ________________ on the table.

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

Answer key

  1. fork — in a road
  2. coach — pulled by horses
  3. game — a kind of play
  4. chip — to eat
  5. nail — on a finger
  6. hand — help
  7. court — for sport
  8. game — wild animals
  9. lie — to recline
  10. hand — part of the body
  11. fork — a garden tool
  12. coach — a trainer
  13. coach — a trainer
  14. lie — an untruth
  15. court — of a king
  16. nail — for a hammer
  17. lie — an untruth
  18. game — a match
  19. nail — for a hammer
  20. fork — to eat with
  21. court — of law
  22. chip — for betting
  23. hand — in cards
  24. chip — in a computer

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