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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
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: wake · clip · band · fork · file · game · staff · shower

  1. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  2. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  3. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  4. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  5. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  6. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  7. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  8. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  9. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  10. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  11. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  12. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  13. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  14. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  15. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  16. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  17. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  18. That was a fun ________________.
  19. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  20. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  21. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  22. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  23. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  24. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. wake — before a funeral
  2. shower — a meteor shower
  3. wake — a trail
  4. game — a kind of play
  5. file — a document
  6. fork — in a road
  7. clip — to cut
  8. fork — a garden tool
  9. file — a line of people
  10. fork — to eat with
  11. staff — employees
  12. clip — for paper
  13. shower — rain
  14. staff — employees
  15. shower — to wash
  16. band — a rubber band
  17. clip — a video
  18. game — a match
  19. game — wild animals
  20. wake — to stop sleeping
  21. band — a music group
  22. staff — a stick
  23. file — a tool
  24. band — a ring

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