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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.

Words on the sheet
468
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: clip · craft · wake · mouse · fork · land · swing · rush

  1. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  2. David sat on the ________________.
  3. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  4. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  5. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  6. When are we going to ________________?
  7. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  8. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  9. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  10. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  11. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  12. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  13. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  14. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  15. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  16. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  17. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  18. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  19. That must've been a ________________.
  20. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  21. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  22. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  23. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  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. wake — before a funeral
  2. swing — to play on
  3. fork — a garden tool
  4. craft — a skill
  5. fork — in a road
  6. land — to come down
  7. swing — music
  8. swing — in golf
  9. land — ground
  10. rush — to hurry
  11. craft — a handicraft
  12. craft — boats
  13. fork — to eat with
  14. wake — a trail
  15. mouse — the animal
  16. mouse — the animal
  17. rush — hurry
  18. land — a country
  19. rush — a thrill
  20. mouse — for a computer
  21. clip — for paper
  22. clip — to cut
  23. wake — to stop sleeping
  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