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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: march · fork · wake · present · swing · clip · bank · snap

  1. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  2. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  3. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  4. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  5. David sat on the ________________.
  6. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  7. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  8. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  9. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  10. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  11. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  12. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  13. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  14. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  15. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  16. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  17. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  18. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  19. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  20. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  21. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  22. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  23. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  24. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.

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

Answer key

  1. present — a gift
  2. present — there
  3. wake — to stop sleeping
  4. fork — to eat with
  5. swing — to play on
  6. clip — for paper
  7. march — the month
  8. swing — in golf
  9. bank — for money
  10. bank — of a river
  11. swing — music
  12. fork — in a road
  13. clip — a video
  14. march — the month
  15. wake — before a funeral
  16. wake — a trail
  17. snap — to snap out of it
  18. present — the time now
  19. march — music
  20. snap — to click
  21. bank — for money
  22. fork — a garden tool
  23. clip — to cut
  24. snap — to speak sharply

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