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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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Word bank
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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 · hand · saw · chip · bass · fan · wake · clip

  1. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  2. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  3. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  4. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  5. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  6. He works in a ________________ mill.
  7. She's very handy with a ________________.
  8. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  9. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  10. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  11. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  12. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  13. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  14. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  15. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  16. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  17. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  18. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  19. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  20. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  21. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  22. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  23. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  24. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.

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

Answer key

  1. clip — a video
  2. fan — a supporter
  3. wake — to stop sleeping
  4. hand — part of the body
  5. chip — in a computer
  6. saw — the tool
  7. saw — the tool
  8. bass — the instrument
  9. wake — before a funeral
  10. clip — for paper
  11. hand — in cards
  12. saw — past of 'see'
  13. fork — in a road
  14. fork — to eat with
  15. bass — the fish
  16. fan — to cool the air
  17. fan — a supporter
  18. chip — to eat
  19. bass — low music
  20. wake — a trail
  21. hand — help
  22. clip — to cut
  23. fork — a garden tool
  24. chip — for betting

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