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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. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  2. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  3. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  4. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  5. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  6. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  7. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  8. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  9. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  10. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  11. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  12. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  13. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  14. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  15. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  16. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  17. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  18. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  19. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  20. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  21. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  22. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  23. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  24. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.

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

Answer key

  1. fork — a garden tool
  2. clip — a video
  3. fork — to eat with
  4. clip — to cut
  5. cue — for pool
  6. wax — in the ear
  7. scale — in music
  8. pit — a hole
  9. wind — to turn a key
  10. clip — for paper
  11. wax — for sculpting
  12. wax — to grow
  13. cue — a hint
  14. wind — moving air
  15. pit — a fruit stone
  16. wind — moving air
  17. fork — in a road
  18. bore — gave birth
  19. scale — for weighing
  20. bore — to tire
  21. cue — a signal
  22. scale — size or range
  23. pit — in a race
  24. bore — to drill

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