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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: fork · chest · clip · wake · bowl · object

  1. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  2. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  3. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  4. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  5. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  6. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  7. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  8. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  9. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  10. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  11. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  12. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  13. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  14. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  15. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  16. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  17. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  18. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.

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

Answer key

  1. wake — before a funeral
  2. fork — a garden tool
  3. wake — to stop sleeping
  4. object — to protest
  5. fork — to eat with
  6. bowl — to roll
  7. chest — a box
  8. bowl — a dish
  9. object — an aim
  10. clip — a video
  11. wake — a trail
  12. clip — to cut
  13. chest — of your body
  14. bowl — a football final
  15. fork — in a road
  16. clip — for paper
  17. object — a thing
  18. chest — of your body

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