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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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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: cabinet · fork · capital · chip · spring · file · calf · pound

  1. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  2. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  3. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  4. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  5. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  6. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  7. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  8. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  9. What do you think of the new ________________?
  10. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  11. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  12. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  13. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  14. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  15. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  16. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  17. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  18. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  19. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  20. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  21. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  22. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  23. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  24. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.

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

Answer key

  1. pound — to hit hard
  2. calf — of the leg
  3. chip — for betting
  4. pound — for dogs
  5. chip — in a computer
  6. cabinet — ministers
  7. capital — a big letter
  8. chip — to eat
  9. cabinet — ministers
  10. file — a tool
  11. file — a document
  12. file — a line of people
  13. pound — a weight
  14. fork — in a road
  15. spring — the season
  16. capital — money
  17. fork — a garden tool
  18. spring — a coil
  19. fork — to eat with
  20. calf — a young animal
  21. spring — of water
  22. capital — a city
  23. cabinet — a cupboard
  24. calf — a young animal

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