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

  1. She's very handy with a ________________.
  2. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  3. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  4. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  5. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  6. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  7. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  8. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  9. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  10. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  11. He works in a ________________ mill.
  12. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  13. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  14. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  15. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  16. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  17. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  18. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  19. The King held a masked ________________.
  20. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  21. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  22. I can't ________________ this cold.
  23. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  24. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.

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

Answer key

  1. saw — the tool
  2. ball — a round shape
  3. fall — the season
  4. fork — to eat with
  5. clip — a video
  6. stand — on your feet
  7. fork — in a road
  8. bear — to put up with
  9. fall — to drop
  10. clip — to cut
  11. saw — the tool
  12. bark — to shout
  13. bear — the animal
  14. bear — the animal
  15. ball — a great time
  16. clip — for paper
  17. bark — of a tree
  18. fall — to drop
  19. ball — a dance
  20. bark — a dog's sound
  21. saw — past of 'see'
  22. stand — to bear
  23. stand — for spectators
  24. fork — a garden 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