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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. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  2. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  3. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  4. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  5. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  6. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  7. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  8. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  9. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  10. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  11. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  12. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  13. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  14. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  15. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  16. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  17. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  18. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  19. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  20. Have you met the new head ________________?
  21. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  22. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  23. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  24. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.

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

Answer key

  1. coach — a trainer
  2. fork — a garden tool
  3. shower — to wash
  4. clip — a video
  5. clip — to cut
  6. clip — for paper
  7. shower — a meteor shower
  8. shower — rain
  9. chip — to eat
  10. bark — to shout
  11. kick — in football
  12. dip — to dunk
  13. kick — with a leg
  14. bark — a dog's sound
  15. fork — to eat with
  16. chip — for betting
  17. chip — in a computer
  18. kick — a thrill
  19. dip — a sauce
  20. coach — a trainer
  21. bark — of a tree
  22. coach — pulled by horses
  23. fork — in a road
  24. dip — to sink

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