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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. When are we going to ________________?
  2. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  3. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  4. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  5. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  6. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  7. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  8. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  9. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  10. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  11. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  12. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  13. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  14. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  15. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  16. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  17. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  18. The ball is in your ________________.
  19. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  20. My father caught me by the ________________.
  21. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  22. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  23. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  24. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.

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

Answer key

  1. land — to come down
  2. branch — of a tree
  3. bat — for baseball
  4. bat — the animal
  5. land — ground
  6. arm — part of the body
  7. firm — steady
  8. court — of a king
  9. fork — in a road
  10. branch — a division
  11. arm — a part of something
  12. bark — a dog's sound
  13. branch — of a bank
  14. bark — to shout
  15. court — of law
  16. fork — a garden tool
  17. land — a country
  18. court — for sport
  19. fork — to eat with
  20. arm — part of the body
  21. firm — decided
  22. firm — a company
  23. bark — of a tree
  24. bat — in an idiom

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