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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 came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  2. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  3. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  4. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  5. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  6. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  7. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  8. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  9. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  10. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  11. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  12. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  13. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  14. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  15. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  16. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  17. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  18. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  19. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  20. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  21. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  22. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  23. The King held a masked ________________.
  24. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.

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

Answer key

  1. fork — in a road
  2. clip — to cut
  3. fork — to eat with
  4. snap — to snap out of it
  5. wound — past of 'wind'
  6. racket — for tennis
  7. clip — a video
  8. racket — a loud noise
  9. file — a line of people
  10. file — a document
  11. racket — for tennis
  12. ball — a round shape
  13. hide — to keep secret
  14. snap — to speak sharply
  15. file — a tool
  16. fork — a garden tool
  17. wound — an injury
  18. clip — for paper
  19. ball — a great time
  20. wound — an injury
  21. snap — to click
  22. hide — to keep secret
  23. ball — a dance
  24. hide — animal skin

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