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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. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  2. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  3. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  4. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  5. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  6. That must've been a ________________.
  7. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  8. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  9. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  10. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  11. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  12. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  13. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  14. It's one o'clock ________________.
  15. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  16. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  17. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  18. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  19. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  20. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  21. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  22. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  23. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  24. We ________________ up on opposing sides.

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

Answer key

  1. rush — to hurry
  2. branch — of a tree
  3. fork — in a road
  4. march — the month
  5. lash — an eyelash
  6. rush — a thrill
  7. fork — a garden tool
  8. sharp — clever
  9. shower — rain
  10. branch — a division
  11. sharp — with an edge
  12. rush — hurry
  13. wound — an injury
  14. sharp — exactly
  15. lash — a whip stroke
  16. march — music
  17. branch — of a bank
  18. lash — to lash out
  19. shower — a meteor shower
  20. wound — an injury
  21. march — the month
  22. shower — to wash
  23. fork — to eat with
  24. wound — past of 'wind'

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