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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 · fall · trunk · clip · toast · row · spell · wake

  1. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  2. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  3. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  4. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  5. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  6. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  7. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  8. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  9. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  10. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  11. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  12. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  13. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  14. How do you ________________ your surname?
  15. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  16. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  17. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  18. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  19. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  20. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  21. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  22. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  23. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  24. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.

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

Answer key

  1. trunk — of a car
  2. fork — to eat with
  3. fall — to drop
  4. fork — in a road
  5. toast — the most admired
  6. row — a line
  7. toast — a drink to someone
  8. clip — to cut
  9. spell — a short time
  10. row — a quarrel
  11. trunk — of a tree
  12. wake — to stop sleeping
  13. row — to paddle
  14. spell — letters
  15. trunk — of an elephant
  16. clip — for paper
  17. toast — bread
  18. fall — the season
  19. wake — a trail
  20. spell — magic
  21. fork — a garden tool
  22. clip — a video
  23. fall — to drop
  24. wake — before a funeral

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