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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: track · mate · chair · fork · game · scale · clip · present

  1. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  2. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  3. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  4. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  5. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  6. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  7. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  8. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  9. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  10. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  11. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  12. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  13. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  14. Have you found your soul ________________?
  15. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  16. That was a fun ________________.
  17. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  18. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  19. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  20. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  21. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  22. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  23. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  24. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.

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

Answer key

  1. fork — a garden tool
  2. scale — in music
  3. track — a path
  4. present — a gift
  5. chair — a leader
  6. mate — a friend
  7. scale — size or range
  8. clip — a video
  9. present — there
  10. game — a kind of play
  11. chair — to sit on
  12. clip — for paper
  13. track — to keep track
  14. mate — a partner
  15. track — a song
  16. game — a match
  17. fork — in a road
  18. present — the time now
  19. scale — for weighing
  20. clip — to cut
  21. game — wild animals
  22. chair — a professorship
  23. mate — to breed
  24. fork — to eat with

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