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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: can · kid · bank · hand · clip · hide · wound · fork

  1. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  2. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  3. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  4. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  5. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  6. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  7. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  8. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  9. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  10. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  11. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  12. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  13. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  14. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  15. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  16. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  17. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  18. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  19. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  20. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  21. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  22. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  23. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  24. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.

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

Answer key

  1. kid — to tease
  2. clip — to cut
  3. fork — a garden tool
  4. bank — of a river
  5. hand — in cards
  6. can — a tin
  7. hide — to keep secret
  8. can — a tin
  9. hide — animal skin
  10. wound — an injury
  11. bank — for money
  12. wound — an injury
  13. hide — to keep secret
  14. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  15. bank — for money
  16. hand — help
  17. kid — child
  18. can — to be able to
  19. clip — a video
  20. fork — to eat with
  21. hand — part of the body
  22. wound — past of 'wind'
  23. clip — for paper
  24. fork — in a road

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