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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: pitcher · fork · tube · deal · trunk · clip · file · kick

  1. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  2. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  3. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  4. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  5. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  6. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  7. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  8. He is an ace ________________.
  9. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  10. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  11. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  12. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  13. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  14. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  15. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  16. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  17. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  18. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  19. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  20. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  21. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  22. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  23. I'll be taking the ________________.
  24. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.

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

Answer key

  1. clip — a video
  2. fork — a garden tool
  3. kick — a thrill
  4. fork — to eat with
  5. deal — a big deal
  6. kick — with a leg
  7. clip — to cut
  8. pitcher — in baseball
  9. tube — in a tire
  10. deal — an agreement
  11. clip — for paper
  12. deal — to handle
  13. fork — in a road
  14. trunk — of a tree
  15. trunk — of a car
  16. pitcher — a jug
  17. file — a line of people
  18. pitcher — a jug
  19. file — a tool
  20. trunk — of an elephant
  21. kick — in football
  22. tube — a container
  23. tube — the underground
  24. file — a document

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