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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 124 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. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  3. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  4. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  5. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  6. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  7. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  8. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  9. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  10. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  11. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  12. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  13. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  14. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  15. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  16. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  17. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  18. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  19. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  20. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  21. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  22. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  23. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  24. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. fork — a garden tool
  2. firm — decided
  3. prune — the fruit
  4. firm — a company
  5. fork — to eat with
  6. perch — the fish
  7. mouse — the animal
  8. prune — to trim
  9. branch — of a tree
  10. mouse — for a computer
  11. prune — to trim
  12. bass — low music
  13. bass — the instrument
  14. perch — for a bird
  15. perch — for a bird
  16. branch — of a bank
  17. branch — a division
  18. mouse — the animal
  19. fork — in a road
  20. spring — a coil
  21. spring — the season
  22. firm — steady
  23. spring — of water
  24. bass — the fish

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

Make a worksheet (0 words)

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