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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. When was this ________________ built?
  3. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  4. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  5. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  6. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  7. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  8. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  9. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  10. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  11. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  12. That was ________________ to happen.
  13. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  14. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  15. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  16. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  17. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  18. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  19. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  20. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  21. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  22. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  23. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  24. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.

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

Answer key

  1. fork — a garden tool
  2. temple — a place of worship
  3. fork — to eat with
  4. fork — in a road
  5. kid — child
  6. clip — a video
  7. pass — a permit
  8. net — in sport
  9. kid — to tease
  10. net — for catching
  11. temple — side of the head
  12. bound — certain
  13. prune — to trim
  14. pass — to succeed
  15. net — after costs
  16. prune — the fruit
  17. pass — to spend time
  18. prune — to trim
  19. temple — a place of worship
  20. clip — for paper
  21. clip — to cut
  22. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  23. bound — obliged
  24. bound — tied together

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