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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. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  2. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  3. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  4. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  5. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  6. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  7. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  8. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  9. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  10. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  11. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  12. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  13. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  14. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  15. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  16. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  17. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  18. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  19. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  20. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  21. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  22. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  23. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  24. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. fork — to eat with
  2. bat — in an idiom
  3. field — a subject
  4. field — farmland
  5. fork — in a road
  6. calf — a young animal
  7. bat — for baseball
  8. scale — size or range
  9. calf — of the leg
  10. fork — a garden tool
  11. branch — of a tree
  12. safe — a strongbox
  13. scale — in music
  14. branch — of a bank
  15. bark — to shout
  16. safe — out of danger
  17. field — for sport
  18. calf — a young animal
  19. bark — a dog's sound
  20. scale — for weighing
  21. safe — out of danger
  22. bat — the animal
  23. branch — a division
  24. bark — 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