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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: bowl · chip · firm · fork · spell · cell · degree · nail

  1. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  2. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  3. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  4. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  5. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  6. The ________________ went through the wall.
  7. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  8. He was locked up in a ________________.
  9. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  10. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  11. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  12. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  13. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  14. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  15. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  16. How do you ________________ your surname?
  17. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  18. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  19. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  20. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  21. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  22. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  23. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  24. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. chip — to eat
  2. firm — steady
  3. degree — an amount
  4. nail — on a finger
  5. bowl — to roll
  6. nail — for a hammer
  7. firm — a company
  8. cell — in a prison
  9. fork — in a road
  10. degree — temperature
  11. fork — a garden tool
  12. cell — a phone
  13. chip — in a computer
  14. fork — to eat with
  15. nail — for a hammer
  16. spell — letters
  17. spell — a short time
  18. bowl — a dish
  19. cell — in biology
  20. degree — from a university
  21. bowl — a football final
  22. firm — decided
  23. chip — for betting
  24. spell — magic

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