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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: file · fork · fall · bore · chest · bank · spring · clip

  1. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  2. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  3. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  4. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  5. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  6. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  7. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  8. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  9. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  10. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  11. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  12. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  13. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  14. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  15. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  16. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  17. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  18. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  19. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  20. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  21. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  22. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  23. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  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. chest — of your body
  2. clip — a video
  3. fork — a garden tool
  4. chest — a box
  5. clip — for paper
  6. bank — of a river
  7. bore — to tire
  8. bank — for money
  9. file — a tool
  10. spring — a coil
  11. file — a line of people
  12. fall — to drop
  13. fall — to drop
  14. clip — to cut
  15. file — a document
  16. bore — gave birth
  17. spring — the season
  18. chest — of your body
  19. fork — to eat with
  20. spring — of water
  21. fall — the season
  22. bore — to drill
  23. bank — for money
  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