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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: fork · foot · pitch · cap · chip · bulb · file · straw

  1. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  2. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  3. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  4. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  5. I've got to change the light ________________.
  6. The light ________________ burned out.
  7. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  8. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  9. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  10. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  11. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  12. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  13. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  14. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  15. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  16. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  17. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  18. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  19. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  20. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  21. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  22. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  23. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  24. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. fork — to eat with
  2. straw — to clutch at straws
  3. cap — a hat
  4. file — a line of people
  5. bulb — for light
  6. bulb — for light
  7. cap — of ice
  8. straw — dry grass
  9. pitch — a sales talk
  10. cap — a lid
  11. fork — in a road
  12. chip — for betting
  13. chip — to eat
  14. foot — a measure
  15. foot — the bottom
  16. foot — part of the body
  17. file — a document
  18. pitch — a sports field
  19. pitch — completely
  20. bulb — of a plant
  21. chip — in a computer
  22. straw — a straw man
  23. fork — a garden tool
  24. file — a tool

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