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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: ground · firm · plane · fork · wind · chest · clip · dip

  1. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  2. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  3. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  4. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  5. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  6. The ________________ took off on time.
  7. There's no middle ________________.
  8. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  9. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  10. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  11. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  12. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  13. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  14. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  15. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  16. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  17. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  18. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  19. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  20. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  21. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  22. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  23. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  24. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.

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

Answer key

  1. plane — a tool
  2. ground — crushed
  3. fork — a garden tool
  4. ground — the earth
  5. wind — moving air
  6. plane — an aircraft
  7. ground — a position
  8. firm — decided
  9. chest — of your body
  10. wind — to turn a key
  11. dip — to sink
  12. wind — moving air
  13. clip — a video
  14. fork — to eat with
  15. clip — for paper
  16. plane — in geometry
  17. clip — to cut
  18. fork — in a road
  19. firm — steady
  20. chest — of your body
  21. chest — a box
  22. firm — a company
  23. dip — to dunk
  24. dip — a sauce

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