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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. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  2. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  3. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  4. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  5. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  6. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  7. I've got to change the light ________________.
  8. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  9. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  10. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  11. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  12. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  13. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  14. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  15. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  16. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  17. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  18. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  19. The light ________________ burned out.
  20. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  21. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  22. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  23. Did you ________________ the meat?
  24. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.

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

Answer key

  1. fork — to eat with
  2. wake — a trail
  3. season — of the year
  4. file — a tool
  5. bulb — of a plant
  6. degree — from a university
  7. bulb — for light
  8. clip — a video
  9. rest — what's left
  10. file — a line of people
  11. wake — before a funeral
  12. rest — what's left
  13. clip — for paper
  14. wake — to stop sleeping
  15. degree — an amount
  16. fork — in a road
  17. fork — a garden tool
  18. degree — temperature
  19. bulb — for light
  20. season — in sport
  21. rest — a break
  22. file — a document
  23. season — to add flavour
  24. clip — to cut

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