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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: ball · bulb · fan · sharp · fork · wound · tube · calf

  1. The King held a masked ________________.
  2. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  3. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  4. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  5. I'll be taking the ________________.
  6. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  7. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  8. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  9. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  10. The light ________________ burned out.
  11. It's one o'clock ________________.
  12. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  13. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  14. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  15. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  16. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  17. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  18. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  19. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  20. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  21. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  22. I've got to change the light ________________.
  23. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  24. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.

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

Answer key

  1. ball — a dance
  2. calf — of the leg
  3. fork — a garden tool
  4. fan — a supporter
  5. tube — the underground
  6. wound — an injury
  7. sharp — with an edge
  8. calf — a young animal
  9. bulb — of a plant
  10. bulb — for light
  11. sharp — exactly
  12. tube — in a tire
  13. ball — a round shape
  14. fan — a supporter
  15. fan — to cool the air
  16. calf — a young animal
  17. sharp — clever
  18. wound — an injury
  19. ball — a great time
  20. fork — to eat with
  21. wound — past of 'wind'
  22. bulb — for light
  23. fork — in a road
  24. tube — a container

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