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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: game · hand · fork · squash · chair · track · saw · land

  1. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  2. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  3. She's very handy with a ________________.
  4. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  5. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  6. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  7. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  8. He works in a ________________ mill.
  9. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  10. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  11. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  12. When are we going to ________________?
  13. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  14. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  15. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  16. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  17. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  18. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  19. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  20. That was a fun ________________.
  21. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  22. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  23. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  24. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.

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

Answer key

  1. track — a path
  2. fork — a garden tool
  3. saw — the tool
  4. game — wild animals
  5. fork — in a road
  6. hand — part of the body
  7. squash — the vegetable
  8. saw — the tool
  9. land — ground
  10. game — a kind of play
  11. fork — to eat with
  12. land — to come down
  13. land — a country
  14. track — to keep track
  15. chair — to sit on
  16. squash — the sport
  17. saw — past of 'see'
  18. hand — help
  19. chair — a professorship
  20. game — a match
  21. track — a song
  22. squash — to crush
  23. hand — in cards
  24. chair — a leader

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