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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. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  2. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  3. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  4. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  5. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  6. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  7. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  8. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  9. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  10. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  11. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  12. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  13. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  14. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  15. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  16. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  17. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  18. The ________________ market has crashed.
  19. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  20. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  21. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  22. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  23. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  24. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.

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

Answer key

  1. fork — a garden tool
  2. branch — a division
  3. face — part of the head
  4. bark — of a tree
  5. bark — a dog's sound
  6. mouse — the animal
  7. fork — in a road
  8. fork — to eat with
  9. tear — to rip
  10. spring — of water
  11. mouse — for a computer
  12. branch — of a tree
  13. tear — from crying
  14. branch — of a bank
  15. spring — the season
  16. stock — goods
  17. spring — a coil
  18. stock — shares
  19. mouse — the animal
  20. bark — to shout
  21. stock — a soup base
  22. face — to point toward
  23. face — to confront
  24. tear — from crying

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