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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. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  3. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  4. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  5. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  6. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  7. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  8. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  9. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  10. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  11. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  12. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  13. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  14. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  15. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  16. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  17. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  18. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  19. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  20. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  21. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  22. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  23. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  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. clip — a video
  3. march — the month
  4. march — the month
  5. lean — to bend
  6. lean — to rest against
  7. lie — to recline
  8. wake — a trail
  9. lean — thin
  10. clip — to cut
  11. wave — a sudden rise
  12. fork — a garden tool
  13. root — of a plant
  14. wake — before a funeral
  15. root — the cause
  16. wake — to stop sleeping
  17. wave — with your hand
  18. lie — an untruth
  19. clip — for paper
  20. root — of a word
  21. march — music
  22. lie — an untruth
  23. wave — of the sea
  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