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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 120 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. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  2. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  3. How do you ________________ your surname?
  4. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  5. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  6. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  7. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  8. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  9. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  10. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  11. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  12. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  13. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  14. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  15. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  16. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  17. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  18. He was blown up by a land ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. spell — magic
  2. branch — a division
  3. spell — letters
  4. branch — of a tree
  5. fork — to eat with
  6. kid — to tease
  7. spell — a short time
  8. wave — with your hand
  9. branch — of a bank
  10. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  11. fork — in a road
  12. mine — belonging to me
  13. kid — child
  14. wave — a sudden rise
  15. wave — of the sea
  16. mine — for digging
  17. fork — a garden tool
  18. mine — an explosive

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