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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: fork · clip · content · arm · cell · fan · bank · lash

  1. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  2. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  3. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  4. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  5. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  6. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  7. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  8. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  9. My father caught me by the ________________.
  10. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  11. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  12. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  13. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  14. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  15. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  16. He was locked up in a ________________.
  17. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  18. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  19. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  20. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  21. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  22. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  23. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  24. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.

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

Answer key

  1. clip — for paper
  2. bank — for money
  3. fan — to cool the air
  4. arm — a part of something
  5. content — the amount
  6. fork — a garden tool
  7. fork — to eat with
  8. clip — to cut
  9. arm — part of the body
  10. cell — a phone
  11. content — videos and posts
  12. lash — to lash out
  13. cell — in biology
  14. bank — for money
  15. fan — a supporter
  16. cell — in a prison
  17. lash — a whip stroke
  18. fan — a supporter
  19. clip — a video
  20. content — happy
  21. lash — an eyelash
  22. bank — of a river
  23. fork — in a road
  24. arm — part of the body

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