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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 120 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: craft · fork · band · wake · game · clip · board · kick

  1. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  2. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  3. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  4. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  5. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  6. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  7. That was a fun ________________.
  8. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  9. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  10. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  11. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  12. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  13. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  14. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  15. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  16. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  17. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  18. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  19. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  20. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  21. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  22. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  23. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  24. Hold the papers together with a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. band — a ring
  2. band — a music group
  3. kick — a thrill
  4. craft — a handicraft
  5. fork — to eat with
  6. board — a committee
  7. game — a match
  8. fork — a garden tool
  9. kick — with a leg
  10. clip — a video
  11. board — to get on
  12. game — wild animals
  13. kick — in football
  14. wake — to stop sleeping
  15. wake — a trail
  16. game — a kind of play
  17. board — a flat piece
  18. fork — in a road
  19. clip — to cut
  20. craft — a skill
  21. band — a rubber band
  22. wake — before a funeral
  23. craft — boats
  24. clip — for paper

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