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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 120 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. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  2. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  3. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  4. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  5. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  6. You don't need to ________________ round.
  7. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  8. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  9. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  10. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  11. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  12. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  13. We're almost out of ________________.
  14. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  15. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  16. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  17. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  18. What do you think of the new ________________?
  19. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  20. Don't do anything ________________.
  21. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  22. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  23. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  24. I seem to be developing a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. fork — to eat with
  2. cabinet — a cupboard
  3. fine — all right
  4. chest — of your body
  5. fine — a penalty
  6. pop — to visit
  7. file — a tool
  8. fork — in a road
  9. chest — of your body
  10. file — a document
  11. pop — music
  12. file — a line of people
  13. pop — soda
  14. branch — of a bank
  15. branch — a division
  16. fork — a garden tool
  17. cabinet — ministers
  18. cabinet — ministers
  19. rash — a series
  20. rash — hasty
  21. branch — of a tree
  22. fine — high quality
  23. chest — a box
  24. rash — on the skin

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