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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.

Words on the sheet
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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: fork · degree · trunk · staff · swing · can · net · clip

  1. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  2. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  3. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  4. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  5. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  6. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  7. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  8. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  9. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  10. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  11. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  12. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  13. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  14. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  15. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  16. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  17. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  18. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  19. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  20. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  21. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  22. David sat on the ________________.
  23. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  24. The old man leaned on his ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. net — for catching
  2. can — to be able to
  3. clip — for paper
  4. degree — an amount
  5. clip — to cut
  6. fork — to eat with
  7. trunk — of a car
  8. net — after costs
  9. swing — music
  10. degree — from a university
  11. clip — a video
  12. swing — in golf
  13. staff — employees
  14. can — a tin
  15. trunk — of a tree
  16. trunk — of an elephant
  17. staff — employees
  18. degree — temperature
  19. fork — in a road
  20. net — in sport
  21. fork — a garden tool
  22. swing — to play on
  23. can — a tin
  24. staff — a stick

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