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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: clip · rest · fan · kick · pitch · season · charge · fork

  1. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  2. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  3. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  4. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  5. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  6. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  7. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  8. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  9. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  10. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  11. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  12. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  13. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  14. The tickets are free of ________________.
  15. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  16. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  17. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  18. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  19. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  20. Did you ________________ the meat?
  21. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  22. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  23. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  24. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.

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

Answer key

  1. fan — a supporter
  2. fork — a garden tool
  3. kick — in football
  4. clip — for paper
  5. season — in sport
  6. kick — with a leg
  7. rest — a break
  8. charge — in control
  9. fork — in a road
  10. rest — what's left
  11. season — of the year
  12. fan — to cool the air
  13. pitch — a sales talk
  14. charge — a price
  15. kick — a thrill
  16. fork — to eat with
  17. rest — what's left
  18. clip — a video
  19. pitch — completely
  20. season — to add flavour
  21. clip — to cut
  22. pitch — a sports field
  23. charge — electricity
  24. fan — a supporter

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