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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: temple · fork · clip · pound · deal · kick

  1. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  2. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  3. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  4. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  5. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  6. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  7. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  8. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  9. When was this ________________ built?
  10. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  11. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  12. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  13. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  14. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  15. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  16. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  17. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  18. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.

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

Answer key

  1. fork — to eat with
  2. deal — to handle
  3. pound — to hit hard
  4. clip — to cut
  5. kick — a thrill
  6. temple — a place of worship
  7. deal — an agreement
  8. fork — a garden tool
  9. temple — a place of worship
  10. kick — with a leg
  11. kick — in football
  12. deal — a big deal
  13. temple — side of the head
  14. clip — a video
  15. clip — for paper
  16. pound — for dogs
  17. fork — in a road
  18. pound — a weight

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