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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 116 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: fork · hand · mouse · shower · clip · saw · scale · object

  1. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  2. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  3. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  4. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  5. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  6. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  7. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  8. He works in a ________________ mill.
  9. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  10. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  11. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  12. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  13. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  14. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  15. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  16. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  17. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  18. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  19. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  20. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  21. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  22. She's very handy with a ________________.
  23. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  24. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. fork — in a road
  2. object — a thing
  3. shower — to wash
  4. mouse — the animal
  5. shower — rain
  6. hand — part of the body
  7. mouse — for a computer
  8. saw — the tool
  9. scale — for weighing
  10. clip — to cut
  11. clip — a video
  12. saw — past of 'see'
  13. clip — for paper
  14. mouse — the animal
  15. fork — a garden tool
  16. object — an aim
  17. shower — a meteor shower
  18. fork — to eat with
  19. hand — help
  20. object — to protest
  21. hand — in cards
  22. saw — the tool
  23. scale — size or range
  24. scale — in 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