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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: firm · clip · sharp · march · fan · temple · fork · game

  1. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  2. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  3. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  4. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  5. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  6. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  7. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  8. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  9. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  10. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  11. It's one o'clock ________________.
  12. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  13. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  14. That was a fun ________________.
  15. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  16. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  17. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  18. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  19. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  20. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  21. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  22. When was this ________________ built?
  23. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  24. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. clip — to cut
  2. clip — a video
  3. firm — steady
  4. temple — side of the head
  5. march — the month
  6. fork — to eat with
  7. game — wild animals
  8. fan — to cool the air
  9. firm — a company
  10. firm — decided
  11. sharp — exactly
  12. temple — a place of worship
  13. fork — in a road
  14. game — a match
  15. fork — a garden tool
  16. sharp — clever
  17. game — a kind of play
  18. fan — a supporter
  19. fan — a supporter
  20. sharp — with an edge
  21. clip — for paper
  22. temple — a place of worship
  23. march — music
  24. march — the month

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