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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: fork · stand · shower · clip · spell · calf · stem · straw

  1. How do you ________________ your surname?
  2. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  3. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  4. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  5. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  6. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  7. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  8. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  9. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  10. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  11. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  12. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  13. I can't ________________ this cold.
  14. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  15. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  16. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  17. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  18. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  19. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  20. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  21. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  22. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  23. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  24. Hold the papers together with a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. spell — letters
  2. fork — in a road
  3. calf — a young animal
  4. clip — to cut
  5. stem — a stem cell
  6. calf — of the leg
  7. shower — to wash
  8. stem — to come from
  9. fork — to eat with
  10. straw — a straw man
  11. spell — magic
  12. stand — for spectators
  13. stand — to bear
  14. calf — a young animal
  15. shower — a meteor shower
  16. straw — to clutch at straws
  17. fork — a garden tool
  18. stand — on your feet
  19. shower — rain
  20. spell — a short time
  21. stem — of a plant
  22. straw — dry grass
  23. clip — a video
  24. clip — for paper

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