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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. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  2. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  3. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  4. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  5. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  6. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  7. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  8. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  9. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  10. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  11. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  12. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  13. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  14. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  15. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  16. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  17. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  18. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  19. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  20. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  21. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  22. He is an ace ________________.
  23. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  24. The players ran onto the football ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. fork — to eat with
  2. wax — for sculpting
  3. clip — to cut
  4. shower — rain
  5. snap — to snap out of it
  6. fork — a garden tool
  7. fork — in a road
  8. shower — a meteor shower
  9. snap — to click
  10. wax — to grow
  11. snap — to speak sharply
  12. pitcher — a jug
  13. pound — a weight
  14. wax — in the ear
  15. shower — to wash
  16. clip — for paper
  17. pound — to hit hard
  18. pitch — completely
  19. pitcher — a jug
  20. pound — for dogs
  21. pitch — a sales talk
  22. pitcher — in baseball
  23. clip — a video
  24. pitch — a sports field

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