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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.

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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: lean · fan · scale · rest · fork · clip · chest · firm

  1. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  2. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  3. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  4. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  5. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  6. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  7. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  8. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  9. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  10. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  11. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  12. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  13. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  14. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  15. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  16. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  17. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  18. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  19. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  20. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  21. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  22. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  23. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  24. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.

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

Answer key

  1. lean — thin
  2. fork — to eat with
  3. scale — in music
  4. chest — of your body
  5. chest — of your body
  6. clip — a video
  7. fork — in a road
  8. firm — a company
  9. scale — for weighing
  10. firm — steady
  11. clip — to cut
  12. lean — to rest against
  13. rest — what's left
  14. chest — a box
  15. rest — what's left
  16. scale — size or range
  17. rest — a break
  18. fan — to cool the air
  19. lean — to bend
  20. clip — for paper
  21. fan — a supporter
  22. fork — a garden tool
  23. firm — decided
  24. fan — a supporter

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