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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: ground · clip · fine · trunk · pit · kid · fork · bowl

  1. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  2. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  3. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  4. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  5. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  6. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  7. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  8. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  9. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  10. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  11. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  12. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  13. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  14. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  15. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  16. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  17. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  18. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  19. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  20. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  21. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  22. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  23. There's no middle ________________.
  24. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. fork — a garden tool
  2. fine — high quality
  3. ground — the earth
  4. pit — a fruit stone
  5. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  6. fork — in a road
  7. pit — a hole
  8. bowl — to roll
  9. ground — crushed
  10. trunk — of an elephant
  11. trunk — of a car
  12. bowl — a football final
  13. clip — a video
  14. kid — to tease
  15. pit — in a race
  16. bowl — a dish
  17. clip — to cut
  18. trunk — of a tree
  19. fine — all right
  20. fine — a penalty
  21. clip — for paper
  22. fork — to eat with
  23. ground — a position
  24. kid — child

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