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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 in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  2. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  3. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  4. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  5. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  6. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  7. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  8. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  9. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  10. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  11. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  12. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  13. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  14. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  15. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  16. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  17. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  18. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  19. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  20. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  21. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  22. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  23. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  24. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.

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

Answer key

  1. fork — to eat with
  2. root — of a plant
  3. bank — of a river
  4. clip — for paper
  5. clip — to cut
  6. bank — for money
  7. file — a line of people
  8. net — after costs
  9. band — a rubber band
  10. root — of a word
  11. fork — in a road
  12. net — for catching
  13. fork — a garden tool
  14. file — a tool
  15. root — the cause
  16. face — part of the head
  17. file — a document
  18. band — a music group
  19. clip — a video
  20. face — to confront
  21. net — in sport
  22. bank — for money
  23. band — a ring
  24. face — to point toward

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