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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 116 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. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  2. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  3. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  4. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  5. That was ________________ to happen.
  6. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  7. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  8. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  9. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  10. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  11. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  12. The ball is in your ________________.
  13. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  14. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  15. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  16. I can't ________________ this cold.
  17. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  18. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  19. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  20. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  21. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  22. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  23. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  24. Let us try to swim against the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. fork — a garden tool
  2. kick — with a leg
  3. bound — obliged
  4. clip — to cut
  5. bound — certain
  6. can — a tin
  7. fork — to eat with
  8. current — electric
  9. bound — tied together
  10. can — a tin
  11. current — happening now
  12. court — for sport
  13. clip — for paper
  14. kick — in football
  15. court — of a king
  16. stand — to bear
  17. fork — in a road
  18. kick — a thrill
  19. clip — a video
  20. can — to be able to
  21. stand — on your feet
  22. court — of law
  23. stand — for spectators
  24. current — of water

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