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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 · scale · court · fan · fork · spell · march · current

  1. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  2. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  3. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  4. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  5. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  6. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  7. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  8. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  9. The ball is in your ________________.
  10. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  11. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  12. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  13. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  14. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  15. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  16. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  17. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  18. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  19. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  20. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  21. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  22. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  23. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  24. How do you ________________ your surname?

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

Answer key

  1. fan — a supporter
  2. current — happening now
  3. fork — in a road
  4. fork — to eat with
  5. fan — a supporter
  6. current — electric
  7. spell — magic
  8. march — the month
  9. court — for sport
  10. march — the month
  11. march — music
  12. chip — in a computer
  13. scale — in music
  14. court — of law
  15. scale — size or range
  16. spell — a short time
  17. scale — for weighing
  18. chip — for betting
  19. current — of water
  20. fan — to cool the air
  21. court — of a king
  22. fork — a garden tool
  23. chip — to eat
  24. spell — letters

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