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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: tear · cold · hand · fine · cabinet · chip · fork · march

  1. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  2. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  3. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  4. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  5. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  6. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  7. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  8. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  9. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  10. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  11. The water is too ________________.
  12. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  13. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  14. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  15. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  16. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  17. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  18. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  19. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  20. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  21. What do you think of the new ________________?
  22. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  23. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  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. march — music
  2. chip — for betting
  3. fork — a garden tool
  4. cabinet — a cupboard
  5. fork — in a road
  6. hand — part of the body
  7. chip — to eat
  8. fine — all right
  9. cold — an illness
  10. tear — from crying
  11. cold — not warm
  12. tear — from crying
  13. march — the month
  14. fine — high quality
  15. hand — help
  16. cold — the Cold War
  17. hand — in cards
  18. fork — to eat with
  19. fine — a penalty
  20. cabinet — ministers
  21. cabinet — ministers
  22. tear — to rip
  23. march — the month
  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