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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. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  2. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  3. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  4. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  5. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  6. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  7. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  8. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  9. My mare is ________________ in color.
  10. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  11. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  12. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  13. My father caught me by the ________________.
  14. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  15. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  16. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  17. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  18. The water is too ________________.
  19. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  20. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  21. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  22. How do you ________________ your surname?
  23. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  24. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.

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

Answer key

  1. fork — to eat with
  2. stick — a piece of wood
  3. stick — to attach or keep to
  4. arm — part of the body
  5. bay — a part of the sea
  6. clip — to cut
  7. arm — a part of something
  8. cold — an illness
  9. bay — a horse colour
  10. clip — for paper
  11. lash — a whip stroke
  12. spell — a short time
  13. arm — part of the body
  14. clip — a video
  15. lash — an eyelash
  16. bay — to keep at bay
  17. cold — the Cold War
  18. cold — not warm
  19. lash — to lash out
  20. stick — a piece of wood
  21. fork — a garden tool
  22. spell — letters
  23. spell — magic
  24. fork — in a road

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