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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 116 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: kid · rest · clip · shower · leaves · staff · fork · content

  1. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  2. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  3. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  4. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  5. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  6. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  7. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  8. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  9. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  10. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  11. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  12. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  13. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  14. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  15. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  16. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  17. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  18. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  19. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  20. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  21. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  22. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  23. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  24. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.

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

Answer key

  1. content — videos and posts
  2. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  3. kid — to tease
  4. content — happy
  5. clip — for paper
  6. clip — to cut
  7. rest — a break
  8. content — the amount
  9. kid — child
  10. rest — what's left
  11. shower — rain
  12. staff — employees
  13. fork — to eat with
  14. fork — in a road
  15. clip — a video
  16. leaves — of a tree
  17. staff — employees
  18. staff — a stick
  19. shower — to wash
  20. leaves — to go away
  21. shower — a meteor shower
  22. fork — a garden tool
  23. rest — what's left
  24. leaves — lets stay

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