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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.

Words on the sheet
468
Word bank
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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. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  2. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  3. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  4. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  5. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  6. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  7. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  8. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  9. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  10. When are we going to ________________?
  11. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  12. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  13. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  14. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  15. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  16. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  17. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  18. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  19. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  20. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  21. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  22. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  23. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  24. She got the top ________________ in the exam.

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

Answer key

  1. fork — a garden tool
  2. chair — a leader
  3. fork — in a road
  4. perch — for a bird
  5. perch — for a bird
  6. clip — to cut
  7. land — a country
  8. clip — for paper
  9. clip — a video
  10. land — to come down
  11. degree — from a university
  12. chair — a professorship
  13. fork — to eat with
  14. kick — with a leg
  15. land — ground
  16. degree — an amount
  17. kick — a thrill
  18. chair — to sit on
  19. mark — to pay attention
  20. perch — the fish
  21. degree — temperature
  22. mark — a trace
  23. kick — in football
  24. mark — a grade

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