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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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468
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: wound · key · racket · toast · fork · clip · spell · file

  1. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  2. How do you ________________ your surname?
  3. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  4. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  5. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  6. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  7. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  8. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  9. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  10. This piece is in a major ________________.
  11. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  12. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  13. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  14. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  15. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  16. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  17. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  18. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  19. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  20. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  21. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  22. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  23. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  24. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.

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

Answer key

  1. spell — magic
  2. spell — letters
  3. spell — a short time
  4. wound — past of 'wind'
  5. file — a tool
  6. wound — an injury
  7. file — a document
  8. key — the most important part
  9. toast — bread
  10. key — in music
  11. clip — for paper
  12. racket — a loud noise
  13. toast — the most admired
  14. clip — to cut
  15. fork — to eat with
  16. wound — an injury
  17. clip — a video
  18. racket — for tennis
  19. fork — a garden tool
  20. fork — in a road
  21. toast — a drink to someone
  22. file — a line of people
  23. key — for a lock
  24. racket — for tennis

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