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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: cell · fork · fall · clip · racket · trunk · ground · stand

  1. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  2. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  3. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  4. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  5. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  6. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  7. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  8. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  9. He was locked up in a ________________.
  10. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  11. I can't ________________ this cold.
  12. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  13. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  14. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  15. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  16. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  17. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  18. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  19. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  20. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  21. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  22. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  23. There's no middle ________________.
  24. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.

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

Answer key

  1. fall — to drop
  2. fork — in a road
  3. cell — in biology
  4. fall — to drop
  5. stand — for spectators
  6. clip — to cut
  7. ground — crushed
  8. racket — for tennis
  9. cell — in a prison
  10. clip — for paper
  11. stand — to bear
  12. cell — a phone
  13. trunk — of a car
  14. clip — a video
  15. racket — a loud noise
  16. fall — the season
  17. ground — the earth
  18. fork — a garden tool
  19. trunk — of an elephant
  20. racket — for tennis
  21. stand — on your feet
  22. trunk — of a tree
  23. ground — a position
  24. fork — to eat with

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