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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: march · last · snap · rule · stick · chip · chair · fork

  1. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  2. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  3. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  4. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  5. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  6. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  7. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  8. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  9. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  10. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  11. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  12. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  13. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  14. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  15. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  16. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  17. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  18. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  19. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  20. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  21. False peace will not ________________.
  22. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  23. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  24. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. chair — a leader
  2. last — finally
  3. snap — to click
  4. fork — a garden tool
  5. last — final
  6. chip — to eat
  7. chair — to sit on
  8. march — music
  9. rule — to rule out
  10. chip — in a computer
  11. chair — a professorship
  12. rule — government
  13. march — the month
  14. march — the month
  15. fork — to eat with
  16. fork — in a road
  17. stick — a piece of wood
  18. stick — to attach or keep to
  19. snap — to speak sharply
  20. chip — for betting
  21. last — to go on
  22. rule — a law
  23. snap — to snap out of it
  24. stick — a piece of wood

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