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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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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  2. That was a fun ________________.
  3. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  4. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  5. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  6. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  7. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  8. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  9. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  10. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  11. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  12. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  13. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  14. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  15. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  16. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  17. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  18. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. fork — in a road
  2. game — a match
  3. scale — size or range
  4. racket — for tennis
  5. hand — in cards
  6. scale — for weighing
  7. branch — a division
  8. hand — help
  9. game — a kind of play
  10. fork — a garden tool
  11. branch — of a tree
  12. scale — in music
  13. racket — a loud noise
  14. game — wild animals
  15. branch — of a bank
  16. racket — for tennis
  17. fork — to eat with
  18. hand — part of the body

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