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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: fork · capital · net · chip · pop · bass · wake · drill

  1. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  2. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  3. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  4. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  5. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  6. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  7. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  8. You don't need to ________________ round.
  9. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  10. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  11. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  12. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  13. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  14. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  15. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  16. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  17. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  18. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  19. We're almost out of ________________.
  20. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  21. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  22. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  23. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  24. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.

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

Answer key

  1. chip — for betting
  2. net — after costs
  3. wake — to stop sleeping
  4. fork — a garden tool
  5. wake — before a funeral
  6. pop — music
  7. fork — in a road
  8. pop — to visit
  9. capital — money
  10. net — in sport
  11. capital — a big letter
  12. chip — in a computer
  13. drill — army training
  14. capital — a city
  15. chip — to eat
  16. fork — to eat with
  17. drill — a practice
  18. bass — the fish
  19. pop — soda
  20. bass — low music
  21. bass — the instrument
  22. net — for catching
  23. drill — the tool
  24. wake — a trail

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