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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.

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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: cue · clip · calf · kid · fork · bear · charge · spring

  1. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  2. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  3. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  4. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  5. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  6. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  7. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  8. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  9. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  10. The tickets are free of ________________.
  11. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  12. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  13. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  14. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  15. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  16. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  17. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  18. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  19. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  20. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  21. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  22. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  23. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  24. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.

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

Answer key

  1. spring — a coil
  2. cue — a signal
  3. fork — a garden tool
  4. spring — of water
  5. bear — the animal
  6. bear — the animal
  7. kid — to tease
  8. clip — a video
  9. charge — electricity
  10. charge — a price
  11. calf — a young animal
  12. kid — child
  13. charge — in control
  14. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  15. fork — to eat with
  16. spring — the season
  17. calf — a young animal
  18. clip — to cut
  19. clip — for paper
  20. cue — a hint
  21. calf — of the leg
  22. fork — in a road
  23. bear — to put up with
  24. cue — for pool

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