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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 120 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.

Words on the sheet
468
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: rush · clip · fork · mark · cold · wave · can · ground

  1. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  2. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  3. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  4. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  5. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  6. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  7. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  8. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  9. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  10. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  11. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  12. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  13. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  14. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  15. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  16. The water is too ________________.
  17. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  18. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  19. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  20. That must've been a ________________.
  21. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  22. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  23. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  24. There's no middle ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. fork — a garden tool
  2. mark — a grade
  3. mark — to pay attention
  4. ground — crushed
  5. clip — for paper
  6. wave — with your hand
  7. cold — the Cold War
  8. rush — to hurry
  9. ground — the earth
  10. clip — a video
  11. fork — to eat with
  12. wave — a sudden rise
  13. mark — a trace
  14. can — a tin
  15. rush — hurry
  16. cold — not warm
  17. can — to be able to
  18. wave — of the sea
  19. cold — an illness
  20. rush — a thrill
  21. can — a tin
  22. fork — in a road
  23. clip — to cut
  24. ground — a position

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