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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: fork · deal · chip · last · march · cold · object · kid

  1. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  2. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  3. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  4. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  5. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  6. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  7. The water is too ________________.
  8. False peace will not ________________.
  9. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  10. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  11. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  12. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  13. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  14. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  15. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  16. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  17. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  18. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  19. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  20. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  21. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  22. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  23. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  24. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.

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

Answer key

  1. march — the month
  2. deal — an agreement
  3. last — finally
  4. object — to protest
  5. object — an aim
  6. kid — to tease
  7. cold — not warm
  8. last — to go on
  9. march — music
  10. chip — to eat
  11. object — a thing
  12. fork — a garden tool
  13. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  14. fork — to eat with
  15. march — the month
  16. cold — the Cold War
  17. deal — a big deal
  18. chip — for betting
  19. fork — in a road
  20. kid — child
  21. last — final
  22. cold — an illness
  23. chip — in a computer
  24. deal — to handle

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