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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 120 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: fan · straw · chest · lie · fork · fall · chip · staff

  1. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  2. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  3. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  4. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  5. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  6. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  7. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  8. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  9. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  10. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  11. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  12. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  13. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  14. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  15. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  16. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  17. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  18. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  19. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  20. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  21. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  22. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  23. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  24. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. fork — a garden tool
  2. lie — an untruth
  3. chip — in a computer
  4. fork — to eat with
  5. fall — to drop
  6. chip — for betting
  7. staff — employees
  8. fan — to cool the air
  9. staff — employees
  10. chest — of your body
  11. fork — in a road
  12. staff — a stick
  13. straw — a straw man
  14. chip — to eat
  15. fall — the season
  16. fall — to drop
  17. lie — to recline
  18. straw — to clutch at straws
  19. chest — a box
  20. fan — a supporter
  21. chest — of your body
  22. fan — a supporter
  23. straw — dry grass
  24. lie — an untruth

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