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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: bank · fork · chair · kid · straw · wound · roll · snap

  1. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  2. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  3. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  4. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  5. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  6. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  7. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  8. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  9. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  10. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  11. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  12. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  13. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  14. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  15. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  16. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  17. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  18. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  19. We're on a ________________ here.
  20. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  21. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  22. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  23. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  24. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.

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

Answer key

  1. fork — in a road
  2. chair — a leader
  3. wound — an injury
  4. snap — to snap out of it
  5. kid — to tease
  6. kid — child
  7. chair — a professorship
  8. roll — a list
  9. fork — to eat with
  10. snap — to speak sharply
  11. fork — a garden tool
  12. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  13. straw — to clutch at straws
  14. straw — dry grass
  15. bank — of a river
  16. snap — to click
  17. bank — for money
  18. roll — a cake
  19. roll — on a roll
  20. straw — a straw man
  21. chair — to sit on
  22. wound — past of 'wind'
  23. bank — for money
  24. wound — an injury

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