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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 · fine · hand · coach · bat · hide · wind · fork

  1. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  2. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  3. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  4. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  5. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  6. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  7. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  8. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  9. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  10. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  11. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  12. Have you met the new head ________________?
  13. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  14. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  15. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  16. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  17. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  18. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  19. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  20. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  21. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  22. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  23. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  24. Do you need a ________________ with that?

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

Answer key

  1. wind — moving air
  2. fork — a garden tool
  3. hand — part of the body
  4. wind — to turn a key
  5. coach — a trainer
  6. bat — for baseball
  7. fine — all right
  8. wind — moving air
  9. coach — pulled by horses
  10. fork — to eat with
  11. clip — for paper
  12. coach — a trainer
  13. hide — animal skin
  14. hide — to keep secret
  15. fine — a penalty
  16. hand — in cards
  17. bat — in an idiom
  18. clip — to cut
  19. clip — a video
  20. fine — high quality
  21. fork — in a road
  22. hide — to keep secret
  23. bat — the animal
  24. hand — help

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