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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: wind · squash · clip · sharp · fine · stick · fork · pop

  1. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  2. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  3. It's one o'clock ________________.
  4. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  5. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  6. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  7. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  8. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  9. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  10. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  11. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  12. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  13. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  14. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  15. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  16. We're almost out of ________________.
  17. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  18. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  19. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  20. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  21. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  22. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  23. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  24. You don't need to ________________ round.

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

Answer key

  1. fork — a garden tool
  2. squash — the sport
  3. sharp — exactly
  4. clip — to cut
  5. fine — high quality
  6. squash — to crush
  7. fine — a penalty
  8. fork — to eat with
  9. wind — to turn a key
  10. stick — a piece of wood
  11. wind — moving air
  12. sharp — clever
  13. fork — in a road
  14. sharp — with an edge
  15. clip — a video
  16. pop — soda
  17. stick — a piece of wood
  18. wind — moving air
  19. fine — all right
  20. stick — to attach or keep to
  21. squash — the vegetable
  22. clip — for paper
  23. pop — music
  24. pop — to visit

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