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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. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  2. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  3. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  4. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  5. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  6. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  7. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  8. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  9. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  10. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  11. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  12. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  13. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  14. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  15. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  16. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  17. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  18. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  19. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  20. My father caught me by the ________________.
  21. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  22. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  23. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  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. wound — an injury
  2. fork — a garden tool
  3. squash — the vegetable
  4. bank — for money
  5. squash — to crush
  6. clip — to cut
  7. wake — to stop sleeping
  8. fork — to eat with
  9. clip — for paper
  10. arm — part of the body
  11. wake — a trail
  12. wake — before a funeral
  13. clip — a video
  14. shower — rain
  15. squash — the sport
  16. shower — to wash
  17. arm — a part of something
  18. shower — a meteor shower
  19. wound — past of 'wind'
  20. arm — part of the body
  21. wound — an injury
  22. bank — for money
  23. bank — of a river
  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