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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: bear · saw · track · fork · row · staff · clip · rest

  1. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  2. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  3. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  4. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  5. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  6. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  7. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  8. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  9. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  10. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  11. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  12. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  13. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  14. He works in a ________________ mill.
  15. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  16. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  17. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  18. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  19. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  20. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  21. She's very handy with a ________________.
  22. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  23. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  24. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.

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

Answer key

  1. rest — a break
  2. staff — employees
  3. fork — in a road
  4. track — a song
  5. bear — the animal
  6. fork — a garden tool
  7. track — to keep track
  8. rest — what's left
  9. rest — what's left
  10. clip — for paper
  11. clip — a video
  12. clip — to cut
  13. row — a quarrel
  14. saw — the tool
  15. staff — employees
  16. track — a path
  17. bear — the animal
  18. row — to paddle
  19. saw — past of 'see'
  20. staff — a stick
  21. saw — the tool
  22. bear — to put up with
  23. fork — to eat with
  24. row — a line

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