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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. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  3. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  4. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  5. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  6. That was ________________ to happen.
  7. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  8. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  9. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  10. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  11. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  12. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  13. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  14. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  15. This piece is in a major ________________.
  16. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  17. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  18. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  19. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  20. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  21. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  22. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  23. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  24. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. fork — to eat with
  2. bound — tied together
  3. wax — to grow
  4. clip — for paper
  5. wax — in the ear
  6. bound — certain
  7. key — for a lock
  8. hand — part of the body
  9. hand — in cards
  10. scale — in music
  11. clip — a video
  12. fork — a garden tool
  13. key — the most important part
  14. bound — obliged
  15. key — in music
  16. pitch — a sports field
  17. pitch — completely
  18. clip — to cut
  19. fork — in a road
  20. pitch — a sales talk
  21. scale — for weighing
  22. hand — help
  23. wax — for sculpting
  24. scale — size or range

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