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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: bark · date · charge · prune · chip · kid · file · fork

  1. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  2. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  3. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  4. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  5. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  6. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  7. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  8. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  9. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  10. Have you settled on a ________________?
  11. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  12. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  13. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  14. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  15. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  16. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  17. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  18. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  19. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  20. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  21. The tickets are free of ________________.
  22. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  23. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  24. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.

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

Answer key

  1. kid — to tease
  2. prune — the fruit
  3. chip — for betting
  4. fork — a garden tool
  5. charge — in control
  6. charge — electricity
  7. chip — to eat
  8. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  9. prune — to trim
  10. date — on the calendar
  11. file — a document
  12. file — a line of people
  13. date — the fruit
  14. chip — in a computer
  15. bark — to shout
  16. kid — child
  17. prune — to trim
  18. bark — of a tree
  19. date — on the calendar
  20. file — a tool
  21. charge — a price
  22. fork — to eat with
  23. bark — a dog's sound
  24. fork — in a road

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