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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: chair · roll · lash · trunk · saw · clip · lean · fork

  1. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  2. He works in a ________________ mill.
  3. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  4. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  5. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  6. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  7. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  8. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  9. We're on a ________________ here.
  10. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  11. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  12. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  13. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  14. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  15. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  16. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  17. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  18. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  19. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  20. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  21. She's very handy with a ________________.
  22. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  23. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  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. roll — a list
  2. saw — the tool
  3. chair — a professorship
  4. lean — to bend
  5. roll — a cake
  6. lash — an eyelash
  7. trunk — of a car
  8. clip — to cut
  9. roll — on a roll
  10. fork — a garden tool
  11. saw — past of 'see'
  12. trunk — of a tree
  13. lean — to rest against
  14. chair — a leader
  15. lean — thin
  16. trunk — of an elephant
  17. chair — to sit on
  18. lash — to lash out
  19. fork — in a road
  20. fork — to eat with
  21. saw — the tool
  22. lash — a whip stroke
  23. clip — for paper
  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