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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: object · chip · tube · swing · fine · stand · bat · fork

  1. I'll be taking the ________________.
  2. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  3. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  4. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  5. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  6. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  7. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  8. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  9. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  10. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  11. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  12. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  13. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  14. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  15. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  16. David sat on the ________________.
  17. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  18. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  19. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  20. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  21. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  22. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  23. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  24. I can't ________________ this cold.

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

Answer key

  1. tube — the underground
  2. fine — all right
  3. chip — to eat
  4. object — to protest
  5. fine — high quality
  6. tube — a container
  7. stand — on your feet
  8. fine — a penalty
  9. bat — for baseball
  10. bat — in an idiom
  11. chip — for betting
  12. fork — a garden tool
  13. fork — to eat with
  14. chip — in a computer
  15. fork — in a road
  16. swing — to play on
  17. bat — the animal
  18. swing — in golf
  19. swing — music
  20. object — a thing
  21. tube — in a tire
  22. object — an aim
  23. stand — for spectators
  24. stand — to bear

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