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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 120 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: kick · clip · wake · fork · bank · pit · rash · fall

  1. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  2. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  3. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  4. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  5. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  6. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  7. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  8. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  9. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  10. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  11. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  12. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  13. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  14. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  15. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  16. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  17. Don't do anything ________________.
  18. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  19. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  20. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  21. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  22. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  23. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  24. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. fall — to drop
  2. fall — to drop
  3. pit — in a race
  4. kick — with a leg
  5. fork — to eat with
  6. wake — before a funeral
  7. clip — for paper
  8. bank — for money
  9. fall — the season
  10. fork — a garden tool
  11. bank — for money
  12. pit — a hole
  13. rash — a series
  14. pit — a fruit stone
  15. kick — in football
  16. clip — to cut
  17. rash — hasty
  18. fork — in a road
  19. bank — of a river
  20. wake — to stop sleeping
  21. kick — a thrill
  22. wake — a trail
  23. rash — on the skin
  24. clip — a video

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