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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: ground · chip · band · bowl · mouse · fork · chair · land

  1. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  2. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  3. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  4. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  5. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  6. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  7. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  8. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  9. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  10. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  11. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  12. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  13. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  14. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  15. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  16. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  17. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  18. There's no middle ________________.
  19. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  20. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  21. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  22. When are we going to ________________?
  23. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  24. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.

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

Answer key

  1. fork — a garden tool
  2. bowl — a football final
  3. bowl — a dish
  4. ground — crushed
  5. chip — for betting
  6. land — ground
  7. mouse — the animal
  8. bowl — to roll
  9. land — a country
  10. fork — in a road
  11. ground — the earth
  12. chair — a professorship
  13. band — a music group
  14. fork — to eat with
  15. band — a ring
  16. chair — a leader
  17. mouse — for a computer
  18. ground — a position
  19. mouse — the animal
  20. chip — in a computer
  21. chip — to eat
  22. land — to come down
  23. chair — to sit on
  24. band — a rubber band

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