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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: wave · fork · clip · calf · lean · wind · bound · saw

  1. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  2. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  3. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  4. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  5. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  6. That was ________________ to happen.
  7. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  8. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  9. She's very handy with a ________________.
  10. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  11. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  12. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  13. He works in a ________________ mill.
  14. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  15. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  16. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  17. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  18. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  19. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  20. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  21. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  22. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  23. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  24. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.

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

Answer key

  1. fork — a garden tool
  2. lean — thin
  3. wind — moving air
  4. wave — a sudden rise
  5. calf — a young animal
  6. bound — certain
  7. lean — to bend
  8. wave — of the sea
  9. saw — the tool
  10. bound — obliged
  11. clip — to cut
  12. bound — tied together
  13. saw — the tool
  14. saw — past of 'see'
  15. wave — with your hand
  16. clip — a video
  17. clip — for paper
  18. calf — of the leg
  19. wind — to turn a key
  20. fork — to eat with
  21. lean — to rest against
  22. calf — a young animal
  23. wind — moving air
  24. fork — in a road

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