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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: fork · clip · charge · scale · kick · cold · file · stick

  1. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  2. The water is too ________________.
  3. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  4. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  5. The tickets are free of ________________.
  6. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  7. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  8. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  9. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  10. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  11. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  12. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  13. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  14. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  15. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  16. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  17. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  18. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  19. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  20. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  21. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  22. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  23. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  24. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. fork — in a road
  2. cold — not warm
  3. charge — electricity
  4. stick — to attach or keep to
  5. charge — a price
  6. kick — with a leg
  7. clip — to cut
  8. charge — in control
  9. fork — to eat with
  10. stick — a piece of wood
  11. scale — size or range
  12. fork — a garden tool
  13. kick — in football
  14. scale — in music
  15. clip — for paper
  16. cold — an illness
  17. file — a document
  18. cold — the Cold War
  19. kick — a thrill
  20. file — a tool
  21. scale — for weighing
  22. stick — a piece of wood
  23. file — a line of people
  24. clip — a video

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