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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.

Make a worksheet

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 · coach · game · bark · safe · hand · fork · cap

  1. Have you met the new head ________________?
  2. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  3. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  4. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  5. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  6. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  7. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  8. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  9. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  10. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  11. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  12. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  13. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  14. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  15. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  16. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  17. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  18. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  19. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  20. That was a fun ________________.
  21. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  22. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  23. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  24. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.

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

Answer key

  1. coach — a trainer
  2. safe — out of danger
  3. fork — a garden tool
  4. cap — a hat
  5. game — wild animals
  6. game — a kind of play
  7. hand — in cards
  8. hand — part of the body
  9. cap — a lid
  10. coach — pulled by horses
  11. coach — a trainer
  12. cap — of ice
  13. safe — a strongbox
  14. bark — to shout
  15. safe — out of danger
  16. clip — a video
  17. clip — to cut
  18. fork — in a road
  19. hand — help
  20. game — a match
  21. bark — of a tree
  22. clip — for paper
  23. fork — to eat with
  24. bark — a dog's sound

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