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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 · racket · wake · game · drill · mate · hand · clip

  1. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  2. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  3. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  4. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  5. Have you found your soul ________________?
  6. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  7. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  8. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  9. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  10. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  11. That was a fun ________________.
  12. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  13. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  14. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  15. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  16. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  17. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  18. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  19. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  20. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  21. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  22. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  23. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  24. Do you need a ________________ with that?

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

Answer key

  1. game — wild animals
  2. mate — to breed
  3. clip — to cut
  4. racket — a loud noise
  5. mate — a partner
  6. hand — in cards
  7. fork — in a road
  8. wake — before a funeral
  9. racket — for tennis
  10. fork — a garden tool
  11. game — a match
  12. fork — to eat with
  13. mate — a friend
  14. drill — the tool
  15. wake — a trail
  16. drill — a practice
  17. clip — for paper
  18. racket — for tennis
  19. game — a kind of play
  20. wake — to stop sleeping
  21. drill — army training
  22. clip — a video
  23. hand — part of the body
  24. hand — help

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