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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: bowl · stick · lash · swing · chip · fork · chest · cold

  1. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  2. The water is too ________________.
  3. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  4. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  5. David sat on the ________________.
  6. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  7. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  8. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  9. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  10. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  11. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  12. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  13. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  14. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  15. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  16. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  17. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  18. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  19. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  20. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  21. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  22. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  23. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  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. stick — a piece of wood
  2. cold — not warm
  3. fork — a garden tool
  4. swing — music
  5. swing — to play on
  6. chip — for betting
  7. chip — in a computer
  8. stick — a piece of wood
  9. lash — a whip stroke
  10. cold — an illness
  11. bowl — to roll
  12. stick — to attach or keep to
  13. chest — of your body
  14. chest — of your body
  15. chip — to eat
  16. lash — an eyelash
  17. swing — in golf
  18. lash — to lash out
  19. bowl — a football final
  20. cold — the Cold War
  21. bowl — a dish
  22. chest — a box
  23. fork — to eat with
  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