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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 · roll · clip · row · net · pit · band · wax

  1. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  2. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  3. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  4. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  5. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  6. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  7. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  8. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  9. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  10. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  11. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  12. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  13. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  14. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  15. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  16. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  17. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  18. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  19. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  20. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  21. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  22. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  23. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  24. We're on a ________________ here.

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

Answer key

  1. clip — for paper
  2. fork — in a road
  3. net — after costs
  4. wax — in the ear
  5. net — in sport
  6. pit — a hole
  7. wax — to grow
  8. roll — a list
  9. band — a ring
  10. fork — to eat with
  11. row — a quarrel
  12. clip — to cut
  13. band — a rubber band
  14. row — a line
  15. row — to paddle
  16. fork — a garden tool
  17. band — a music group
  18. pit — a fruit stone
  19. pit — in a race
  20. wax — for sculpting
  21. roll — a cake
  22. clip — a video
  23. net — for catching
  24. roll — on a roll

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