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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. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  2. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  3. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  4. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  5. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  6. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  7. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  8. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  9. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  10. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  11. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  12. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  13. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  14. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  15. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  16. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  17. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  18. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  19. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  20. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  21. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  22. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  23. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  24. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.

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

Answer key

  1. clip — for paper
  2. trunk — of a tree
  3. fork — in a road
  4. current — electric
  5. hand — in cards
  6. fork — to eat with
  7. current — of water
  8. pitch — a sales talk
  9. current — happening now
  10. stick — to attach or keep to
  11. fork — a garden tool
  12. stick — a piece of wood
  13. hand — help
  14. pitch — a sports field
  15. stick — a piece of wood
  16. trunk — of an elephant
  17. trunk — of a car
  18. clip — a video
  19. clip — to cut
  20. dip — to dunk
  21. hand — part of the body
  22. dip — a sauce
  23. pitch — completely
  24. dip — to sink

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