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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: spell · wind · chip · pound · row · file · bat · fork

  1. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  2. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  3. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  4. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  5. How do you ________________ your surname?
  6. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  7. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  8. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  9. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  10. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  11. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  12. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  13. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  14. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  15. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  16. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  17. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  18. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  19. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  20. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  21. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  22. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  23. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  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. file — a document
  2. fork — a garden tool
  3. file — a tool
  4. wind — moving air
  5. spell — letters
  6. chip — for betting
  7. file — a line of people
  8. bat — in an idiom
  9. fork — in a road
  10. spell — a short time
  11. pound — for dogs
  12. row — a quarrel
  13. bat — the animal
  14. wind — moving air
  15. fork — to eat with
  16. pound — a weight
  17. chip — in a computer
  18. bat — for baseball
  19. wind — to turn a key
  20. row — to paddle
  21. spell — magic
  22. pound — to hit hard
  23. row — a line
  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