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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. Have you settled on a ________________?
  2. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  3. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  4. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  5. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  6. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  7. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  8. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  9. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  10. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  11. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  12. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  13. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  14. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  15. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  16. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  17. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  18. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  19. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  20. He is an ace ________________.
  21. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  22. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  23. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  24. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.

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

Answer key

  1. date — on the calendar
  2. branch — of a bank
  3. chair — a professorship
  4. snap — to click
  5. perch — the fish
  6. fork — to eat with
  7. fork — in a road
  8. chair — a leader
  9. craft — boats
  10. branch — a division
  11. craft — a handicraft
  12. date — on the calendar
  13. pitcher — a jug
  14. perch — for a bird
  15. date — the fruit
  16. snap — to snap out of it
  17. craft — a skill
  18. chair — to sit on
  19. perch — for a bird
  20. pitcher — in baseball
  21. branch — of a tree
  22. snap — to speak sharply
  23. fork — a garden tool
  24. pitcher — a jug

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