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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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Word bank
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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: chip · tube · game · season · stem · fork · capital · ruler

  1. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  2. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  3. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  4. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  5. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  6. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  7. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  8. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  9. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  10. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  11. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  12. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  13. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  14. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  15. That was a fun ________________.
  16. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  17. Did you ________________ the meat?
  18. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  19. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  20. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  21. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  22. I'll be taking the ________________.
  23. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  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. chip — in a computer
  2. season — of the year
  3. capital — a city
  4. ruler — a monarch
  5. ruler — for measuring
  6. game — a kind of play
  7. fork — to eat with
  8. chip — for betting
  9. fork — a garden tool
  10. stem — a stem cell
  11. season — in sport
  12. capital — money
  13. ruler — for measuring
  14. tube — in a tire
  15. game — a match
  16. stem — of a plant
  17. season — to add flavour
  18. tube — a container
  19. chip — to eat
  20. capital — a big letter
  21. game — wild animals
  22. tube — the underground
  23. stem — to come from
  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