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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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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 · lie · date · swing · can · pitch · clip · wind

  1. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  2. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  3. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  4. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  5. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  6. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  7. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  8. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  9. Have you settled on a ________________?
  10. David sat on the ________________.
  11. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  12. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  13. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  14. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  15. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  16. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  17. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  18. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  19. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  20. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  21. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  22. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  23. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  24. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.

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

Answer key

  1. fork — to eat with
  2. clip — to cut
  3. pitch — a sales talk
  4. fork — in a road
  5. can — a tin
  6. swing — music
  7. clip — a video
  8. wind — moving air
  9. date — on the calendar
  10. swing — to play on
  11. can — a tin
  12. wind — moving air
  13. fork — a garden tool
  14. can — to be able to
  15. lie — an untruth
  16. swing — in golf
  17. lie — an untruth
  18. clip — for paper
  19. date — on the calendar
  20. date — the fruit
  21. wind — to turn a key
  22. pitch — a sports field
  23. lie — to recline
  24. pitch — completely

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