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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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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 · pound · kid · mouse · fork · bay · chip · press

  1. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  2. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  3. My mare is ________________ in color.
  4. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  5. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  6. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  7. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  8. Did you ________________ the button?
  9. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  10. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  11. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  12. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  13. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  14. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  15. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  16. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  17. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  18. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  19. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  20. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  21. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  22. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  23. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  24. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.

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

Answer key

  1. fork — in a road
  2. kid — child
  3. bay — a horse colour
  4. clip — to cut
  5. press — a publisher
  6. clip — for paper
  7. bay — to keep at bay
  8. press — to push
  9. mouse — the animal
  10. chip — in a computer
  11. pound — a weight
  12. pound — for dogs
  13. kid — to tease
  14. fork — to eat with
  15. pound — to hit hard
  16. mouse — for a computer
  17. clip — a video
  18. bay — a part of the sea
  19. press — newspapers
  20. chip — to eat
  21. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  22. chip — for betting
  23. mouse — the animal
  24. fork — a garden tool

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