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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: land · bore · race · fork · mine · chip · stem · cap

  1. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  2. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  3. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  4. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  5. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  6. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  7. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  8. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  9. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  10. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  11. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  12. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  13. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  14. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  15. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  16. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  17. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  18. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  19. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  20. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  21. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  22. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  23. When are we going to ________________?
  24. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. chip — in a computer
  2. race — a contest
  3. bore — gave birth
  4. cap — of ice
  5. chip — for betting
  6. land — ground
  7. chip — to eat
  8. fork — to eat with
  9. fork — a garden tool
  10. mine — an explosive
  11. race — the arms race
  12. bore — to tire
  13. stem — of a plant
  14. bore — to drill
  15. stem — to come from
  16. land — a country
  17. mine — for digging
  18. cap — a hat
  19. cap — a lid
  20. stem — a stem cell
  21. mine — belonging to me
  22. fork — in a road
  23. land — to come down
  24. race — humankind

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