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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: game · saw · kid · scale · board · fork · clip · trunk

  1. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  2. That was a fun ________________.
  3. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  4. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  5. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  6. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  7. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  8. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  9. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  10. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  11. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  12. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  13. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  14. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  15. He works in a ________________ mill.
  16. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  17. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  18. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  19. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  20. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  21. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  22. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  23. She's very handy with a ________________.
  24. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. saw — past of 'see'
  2. game — a match
  3. fork — to eat with
  4. game — wild animals
  5. board — a flat piece
  6. fork — a garden tool
  7. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  8. clip — a video
  9. kid — child
  10. board — to get on
  11. kid — to tease
  12. board — a committee
  13. scale — for weighing
  14. fork — in a road
  15. saw — the tool
  16. clip — for paper
  17. trunk — of an elephant
  18. trunk — of a car
  19. scale — size or range
  20. game — a kind of play
  21. trunk — of a tree
  22. clip — to cut
  23. saw — the tool
  24. scale — in 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