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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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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 · face · kid · bear · staff · mark · stick · clip

  1. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  2. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  3. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  4. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  5. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  6. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  7. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  8. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  9. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  10. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  11. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  12. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  13. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  14. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  15. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  16. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  17. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  18. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  19. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  20. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  21. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  22. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  23. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  24. She got the top ________________ in the exam.

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

Answer key

  1. kid — child
  2. kid — to tease
  3. face — to confront
  4. staff — employees
  5. fork — in a road
  6. mark — to pay attention
  7. fork — a garden tool
  8. bear — the animal
  9. stick — a piece of wood
  10. staff — a stick
  11. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  12. mark — a trace
  13. stick — to attach or keep to
  14. staff — employees
  15. face — part of the head
  16. fork — to eat with
  17. stick — a piece of wood
  18. bear — the animal
  19. bear — to put up with
  20. clip — for paper
  21. face — to point toward
  22. clip — a video
  23. clip — to cut
  24. mark — a grade

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