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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: march · fork · rest · cell · rock · lash · bowl · clip

  1. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  2. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  3. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  4. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  5. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  6. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  7. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  8. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  9. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  10. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  11. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  12. He was locked up in a ________________.
  13. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  14. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  15. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  16. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  17. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  18. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  19. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  20. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  21. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  22. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  23. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  24. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.

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

Answer key

  1. fork — a garden tool
  2. lash — to lash out
  3. clip — a video
  4. march — the month
  5. fork — in a road
  6. rest — a break
  7. rock — to move gently
  8. lash — a whip stroke
  9. lash — an eyelash
  10. march — music
  11. rock — a stone
  12. cell — in a prison
  13. fork — to eat with
  14. clip — to cut
  15. clip — for paper
  16. march — the month
  17. bowl — a dish
  18. rock — music
  19. bowl — to roll
  20. rest — what's left
  21. cell — in biology
  22. cell — a phone
  23. bowl — a football final
  24. rest — what's left

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