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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.

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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. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  3. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  4. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  5. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  6. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  7. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  8. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  9. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  10. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  11. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  12. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  13. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  14. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  15. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  16. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  17. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  18. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  19. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  20. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  21. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  22. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  23. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  24. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.

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

Answer key

  1. fork — a garden tool
  2. file — a line of people
  3. kid — child
  4. kid — to tease
  5. mouse — the animal
  6. net — in sport
  7. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  8. clip — to cut
  9. fork — in a road
  10. chest — of your body
  11. net — after costs
  12. file — a tool
  13. mouse — the animal
  14. mouse — for a computer
  15. chest — of your body
  16. board — a flat piece
  17. board — a committee
  18. chest — a box
  19. file — a document
  20. clip — for paper
  21. net — for catching
  22. board — to get on
  23. clip — a video
  24. fork — to eat with

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