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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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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: chair · spell · rock · fork · cue · saw · club · clip

  1. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  2. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  3. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  4. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  5. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  6. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  7. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  8. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  9. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  10. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  11. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  12. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  13. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  14. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  15. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  16. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  17. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  18. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  19. He works in a ________________ mill.
  20. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  21. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  22. How do you ________________ your surname?
  23. She's very handy with a ________________.
  24. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?

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

Answer key

  1. clip — for paper
  2. cue — for pool
  3. club — a group
  4. fork — to eat with
  5. rock — to move gently
  6. saw — past of 'see'
  7. cue — a signal
  8. chair — to sit on
  9. chair — a professorship
  10. spell — magic
  11. club — for golf
  12. rock — a stone
  13. chair — a leader
  14. cue — a hint
  15. clip — a video
  16. clip — to cut
  17. spell — a short time
  18. club — for dancing
  19. saw — the tool
  20. fork — a garden tool
  21. fork — in a road
  22. spell — letters
  23. saw — the tool
  24. rock — music

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