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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 train ________________ at six o'clock.
  2. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  3. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  4. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  5. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  6. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  7. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  8. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  9. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  10. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  11. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  12. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  13. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  14. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  15. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  16. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  17. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  18. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  19. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  20. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  21. When was this ________________ built?
  22. He is an ace ________________.
  23. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  24. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.

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

Answer key

  1. leaves — to go away
  2. fork — to eat with
  3. branch — a division
  4. trunk — of a car
  5. temple — a place of worship
  6. fork — a garden tool
  7. leaves — lets stay
  8. net — after costs
  9. temple — side of the head
  10. pitcher — a jug
  11. tear — to rip
  12. trunk — of an elephant
  13. tear — from crying
  14. branch — of a bank
  15. fork — in a road
  16. pitcher — a jug
  17. leaves — of a tree
  18. net — for catching
  19. trunk — of a tree
  20. net — in sport
  21. temple — a place of worship
  22. pitcher — in baseball
  23. tear — from crying
  24. branch — of a tree

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