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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: swing · board · net · toast · roll · cap · clip · fork

  1. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  2. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  3. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  4. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  5. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  6. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  7. David sat on the ________________.
  8. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  9. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  10. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  11. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  12. We're on a ________________ here.
  13. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  14. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  15. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  16. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  17. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  18. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  19. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  20. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  21. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  22. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  23. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  24. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?

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

Answer key

  1. fork — to eat with
  2. toast — bread
  3. board — to get on
  4. clip — for paper
  5. fork — in a road
  6. net — for catching
  7. swing — to play on
  8. clip — a video
  9. roll — a cake
  10. clip — to cut
  11. board — a committee
  12. roll — on a roll
  13. cap — of ice
  14. toast — the most admired
  15. net — in sport
  16. swing — in golf
  17. fork — a garden tool
  18. board — a flat piece
  19. roll — a list
  20. swing — music
  21. cap — a hat
  22. toast — a drink to someone
  23. net — after costs
  24. cap — a lid

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