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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: clip · present · fall · club · craft · fork · rule · ground

  1. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  2. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  3. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  4. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  5. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  6. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  7. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  8. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  9. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  10. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  11. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  12. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  13. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  14. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  15. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  16. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  17. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  18. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  19. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  20. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  21. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  22. There's no middle ________________.
  23. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  24. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.

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

Answer key

  1. ground — the earth
  2. craft — boats
  3. ground — crushed
  4. present — a gift
  5. fall — to drop
  6. craft — a handicraft
  7. clip — a video
  8. rule — government
  9. fork — to eat with
  10. clip — for paper
  11. club — for dancing
  12. fork — a garden tool
  13. fall — to drop
  14. present — there
  15. clip — to cut
  16. rule — a law
  17. rule — to rule out
  18. fork — in a road
  19. club — for golf
  20. club — a group
  21. fall — the season
  22. ground — a position
  23. craft — a skill
  24. present — the time now

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