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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. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  2. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  3. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  4. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  5. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  6. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  7. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  8. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  9. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  10. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  11. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  12. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  13. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  14. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  15. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  16. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  17. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  18. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  19. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  20. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  21. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  22. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  23. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  24. She's sitting on a gold ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. file — a document
  2. bear — the animal
  3. branch — of a bank
  4. shower — to wash
  5. branch — of a tree
  6. snap — to speak sharply
  7. fork — in a road
  8. file — a line of people
  9. present — a gift
  10. bear — to put up with
  11. bear — the animal
  12. shower — rain
  13. fork — to eat with
  14. shower — a meteor shower
  15. branch — a division
  16. mine — belonging to me
  17. snap — to click
  18. present — there
  19. snap — to snap out of it
  20. mine — an explosive
  21. fork — a garden tool
  22. present — the time now
  23. file — a tool
  24. mine — for digging

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