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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: straw · net · capital · present · bowl · fork · spell · chip

  1. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  2. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  3. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  4. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  5. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  6. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  7. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  8. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  9. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  10. How do you ________________ your surname?
  11. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  12. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  13. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  14. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  15. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  16. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  17. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  18. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  19. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  20. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  21. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  22. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  23. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  24. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bowl — a dish
  2. present — the time now
  3. fork — a garden tool
  4. chip — in a computer
  5. bowl — a football final
  6. net — for catching
  7. bowl — to roll
  8. spell — magic
  9. net — after costs
  10. spell — letters
  11. spell — a short time
  12. fork — to eat with
  13. straw — to clutch at straws
  14. present — there
  15. present — a gift
  16. chip — to eat
  17. straw — a straw man
  18. net — in sport
  19. capital — a big letter
  20. capital — a city
  21. capital — money
  22. chip — for betting
  23. fork — in a road
  24. straw — dry grass

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