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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: clip · chest · sharp · saw · lash · rest · fork · mark

  1. He works in a ________________ mill.
  2. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  3. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  4. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  5. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  6. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  7. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  8. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  9. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  10. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  11. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  12. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  13. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  14. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  15. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  16. She's very handy with a ________________.
  17. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  18. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  19. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  20. It's one o'clock ________________.
  21. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  22. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  23. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  24. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. saw — the tool
  2. mark — a grade
  3. mark — a trace
  4. rest — what's left
  5. lash — a whip stroke
  6. chest — a box
  7. fork — in a road
  8. clip — a video
  9. lash — an eyelash
  10. lash — to lash out
  11. sharp — with an edge
  12. rest — a break
  13. mark — to pay attention
  14. fork — a garden tool
  15. clip — to cut
  16. saw — the tool
  17. sharp — clever
  18. clip — for paper
  19. fork — to eat with
  20. sharp — exactly
  21. chest — of your body
  22. rest — what's left
  23. saw — past of 'see'
  24. chest — of your 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