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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 120 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: rock · cold · chip · fork · land · sharp · rest · vault

  1. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  2. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  3. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  4. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  5. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  6. It's one o'clock ________________.
  7. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  8. When are we going to ________________?
  9. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  10. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  11. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  12. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  13. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  14. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  15. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  16. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  17. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  18. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  19. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  20. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  21. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  22. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  23. The water is too ________________.
  24. He's quite ________________, isn't he?

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

Answer key

  1. fork — a garden tool
  2. fork — to eat with
  3. cold — an illness
  4. land — ground
  5. land — a country
  6. sharp — exactly
  7. rest — what's left
  8. land — to come down
  9. rest — a break
  10. chip — in a computer
  11. sharp — with an edge
  12. fork — in a road
  13. rest — what's left
  14. vault — a safe
  15. rock — a stone
  16. rock — to move gently
  17. chip — to eat
  18. vault — an arched ceiling
  19. rock — music
  20. chip — for betting
  21. cold — the Cold War
  22. vault — in gymnastics
  23. cold — not warm
  24. sharp — clever

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