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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 116 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 · clip · stem · pound · chair · lean · wound · wave

  1. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  2. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  3. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  4. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  5. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  6. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  7. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  8. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  9. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  10. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  11. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  12. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  13. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  14. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  15. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  16. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  17. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  18. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  19. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  20. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  21. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  22. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  23. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  24. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. clip — for paper
  2. wound — an injury
  3. stem — to come from
  4. fork — a garden tool
  5. lean — to rest against
  6. pound — for dogs
  7. pound — to hit hard
  8. chair — a professorship
  9. fork — to eat with
  10. wave — a sudden rise
  11. stem — of a plant
  12. chair — a leader
  13. fork — in a road
  14. wound — past of 'wind'
  15. stem — a stem cell
  16. lean — to bend
  17. pound — a weight
  18. wave — with your hand
  19. clip — a video
  20. wound — an injury
  21. clip — to cut
  22. lean — thin
  23. chair — to sit on
  24. wave — of the sea

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