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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: fork · kid · rest · shower · pop · lean · clip · toast

  1. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  2. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  3. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  4. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  5. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  6. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  7. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  8. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  9. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  10. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  11. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  12. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  13. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  14. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  15. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  16. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  17. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  18. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  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. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  22. We're almost out of ________________.
  23. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  24. You don't need to ________________ round.

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

Answer key

  1. fork — a garden tool
  2. pop — music
  3. lean — to rest against
  4. lean — to bend
  5. kid — child
  6. shower — to wash
  7. shower — a meteor shower
  8. toast — bread
  9. clip — for paper
  10. shower — rain
  11. lean — thin
  12. rest — what's left
  13. clip — to cut
  14. toast — the most admired
  15. toast — a drink to someone
  16. kid — to tease
  17. rest — a break
  18. clip — a video
  19. fork — in a road
  20. fork — to eat with
  21. rest — what's left
  22. pop — soda
  23. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  24. pop — to visit

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