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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: chip · fork · pass · fall · key · wind · chest · root

  1. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  2. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  3. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  4. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  5. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  6. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  7. This piece is in a major ________________.
  8. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  9. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  10. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  11. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  12. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  13. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  14. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  15. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  16. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  17. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  18. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  19. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  20. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  21. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  22. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  23. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  24. You can't go backstage without a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. pass — to succeed
  2. fork — in a road
  3. chest — of your body
  4. fall — to drop
  5. fork — to eat with
  6. fall — to drop
  7. key — in music
  8. root — the cause
  9. wind — to turn a key
  10. wind — moving air
  11. chip — for betting
  12. fall — the season
  13. fork — a garden tool
  14. wind — moving air
  15. chip — to eat
  16. chest — a box
  17. key — for a lock
  18. root — of a plant
  19. root — of a word
  20. key — the most important part
  21. chest — of your body
  22. pass — to spend time
  23. chip — in a computer
  24. pass — a permit

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