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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: cold · can · race · content · chip · pit · stem · fork

  1. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  2. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  3. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  4. The water is too ________________.
  5. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  6. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  7. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  8. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  9. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  10. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  11. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  12. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  13. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  14. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  15. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  16. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  17. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  18. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  19. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  20. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  21. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  22. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  23. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  24. There's a computer ________________ on the table.

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

Answer key

  1. can — a tin
  2. pit — in a race
  3. pit — a hole
  4. cold — not warm
  5. chip — to eat
  6. stem — to come from
  7. cold — an illness
  8. fork — in a road
  9. content — the amount
  10. pit — a fruit stone
  11. content — happy
  12. race — the arms race
  13. stem — of a plant
  14. content — videos and posts
  15. can — a tin
  16. race — a contest
  17. fork — to eat with
  18. fork — a garden tool
  19. chip — for betting
  20. can — to be able to
  21. cold — the Cold War
  22. race — humankind
  23. stem — a stem cell
  24. chip — in a computer

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