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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 · spell · fork · sharp · fall · hand · bowl · firm

  1. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  2. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  3. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  4. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  5. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  6. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  7. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  8. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  9. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  10. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  11. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  12. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  13. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  14. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  15. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  16. How do you ________________ your surname?
  17. It's one o'clock ________________.
  18. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  19. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  20. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  21. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  22. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  23. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  24. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. fork — a garden tool
  2. spell — magic
  3. bowl — to roll
  4. clip — to cut
  5. bowl — a dish
  6. bowl — a football final
  7. firm — a company
  8. fork — to eat with
  9. fork — in a road
  10. firm — steady
  11. sharp — with an edge
  12. spell — a short time
  13. fall — to drop
  14. clip — for paper
  15. fall — the season
  16. spell — letters
  17. sharp — exactly
  18. firm — decided
  19. hand — in cards
  20. fall — to drop
  21. hand — help
  22. clip — a video
  23. sharp — clever
  24. hand — part of the body

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