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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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468
Word bank
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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. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  2. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  3. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  4. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  5. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  6. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  7. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  8. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  9. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  10. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  11. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  12. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  13. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  14. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  15. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  16. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  17. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  18. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  19. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  20. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  21. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  22. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  23. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  24. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.

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

Answer key

  1. can — to be able to
  2. fork — in a road
  3. fall — the season
  4. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  5. fork — to eat with
  6. fall — to drop
  7. file — a tool
  8. fork — a garden tool
  9. kid — child
  10. degree — temperature
  11. degree — an amount
  12. file — a line of people
  13. clip — to cut
  14. can — a tin
  15. fall — to drop
  16. file — a document
  17. clip — a video
  18. degree — from a university
  19. clip — for paper
  20. racket — a loud noise
  21. can — a tin
  22. racket — for tennis
  23. racket — for tennis
  24. kid — to tease

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