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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.

Words on the sheet
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: fork · field · band · clip · root · cabinet · row · fan

  1. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  2. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  3. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  4. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  5. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  6. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  7. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  8. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  9. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  10. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  11. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  12. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  13. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  14. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  15. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  16. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  17. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  18. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  19. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  20. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  21. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  22. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  23. What do you think of the new ________________?
  24. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. clip — to cut
  2. field — farmland
  3. row — a line
  4. band — a music group
  5. clip — for paper
  6. cabinet — ministers
  7. band — a ring
  8. fan — a supporter
  9. root — the cause
  10. root — of a word
  11. field — a subject
  12. fan — a supporter
  13. root — of a plant
  14. row — a quarrel
  15. cabinet — a cupboard
  16. fork — a garden tool
  17. clip — a video
  18. fan — to cool the air
  19. fork — to eat with
  20. band — a rubber band
  21. fork — in a road
  22. row — to paddle
  23. cabinet — ministers
  24. field — for sport

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