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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: coach · wave · club · clip · file · march · rest · fork

  1. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  2. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  3. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  4. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  5. Have you met the new head ________________?
  6. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  7. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  8. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  9. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  10. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  11. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  12. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  13. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  14. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  15. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  16. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  17. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  18. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  19. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  20. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  21. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  22. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  23. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  24. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.

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

Answer key

  1. fork — a garden tool
  2. wave — with your hand
  3. rest — a break
  4. rest — what's left
  5. coach — a trainer
  6. file — a document
  7. rest — what's left
  8. clip — a video
  9. fork — in a road
  10. march — the month
  11. club — for dancing
  12. wave — of the sea
  13. file — a tool
  14. march — the month
  15. clip — to cut
  16. clip — for paper
  17. fork — to eat with
  18. club — a group
  19. club — for golf
  20. file — a line of people
  21. coach — a trainer
  22. coach — pulled by horses
  23. wave — a sudden rise
  24. march — music

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