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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: fork · clip · bowl · pop · calf · content · wave · field

  1. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  2. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  3. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  4. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  5. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  6. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  7. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  8. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  9. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  10. We're almost out of ________________.
  11. You don't need to ________________ round.
  12. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  13. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  14. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  15. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  16. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  17. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  18. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  19. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  20. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  21. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  22. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  23. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  24. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.

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

Answer key

  1. wave — a sudden rise
  2. clip — for paper
  3. calf — a young animal
  4. clip — a video
  5. bowl — a dish
  6. content — happy
  7. fork — a garden tool
  8. fork — in a road
  9. field — for sport
  10. pop — soda
  11. pop — to visit
  12. field — a subject
  13. calf — of the leg
  14. field — farmland
  15. bowl — to roll
  16. content — videos and posts
  17. calf — a young animal
  18. pop — music
  19. clip — to cut
  20. wave — with your hand
  21. content — the amount
  22. wave — of the sea
  23. fork — to eat with
  24. bowl — a football final

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