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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: chip · face · fork · cold · kid · pitcher · kick · dip

  1. The water is too ________________.
  2. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  3. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  4. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  5. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  6. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  7. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  8. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  9. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  10. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  11. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  12. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  13. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  14. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  15. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  16. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  17. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  18. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  19. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  20. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  21. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  22. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  23. He is an ace ________________.
  24. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — not warm
  2. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  3. fork — a garden tool
  4. chip — to eat
  5. fork — to eat with
  6. pitcher — a jug
  7. fork — in a road
  8. face — to point toward
  9. kid — child
  10. cold — an illness
  11. chip — for betting
  12. pitcher — a jug
  13. chip — in a computer
  14. face — to confront
  15. kick — a thrill
  16. dip — to sink
  17. kick — with a leg
  18. dip — a sauce
  19. face — part of the head
  20. kick — in football
  21. kid — to tease
  22. cold — the Cold War
  23. pitcher — in baseball
  24. dip — to dunk

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