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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 from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: clip · fork · tear · kid · stand · club

  1. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  2. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  3. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  4. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  5. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  6. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  7. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  8. I can't ________________ this cold.
  9. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  10. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  11. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  12. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  13. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  14. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  15. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  16. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  17. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  18. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. fork — in a road
  2. club — a group
  3. clip — to cut
  4. stand — for spectators
  5. stand — on your feet
  6. fork — a garden tool
  7. kid — child
  8. stand — to bear
  9. tear — from crying
  10. kid — to tease
  11. club — for golf
  12. fork — to eat with
  13. tear — from crying
  14. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  15. club — for dancing
  16. tear — to rip
  17. clip — for paper
  18. clip — a video

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