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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. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  2. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  3. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  4. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  5. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  6. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  7. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  8. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  9. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  10. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  11. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  12. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  13. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  14. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  15. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  16. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  17. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  18. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  19. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  20. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  21. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  22. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  23. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  24. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.

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

Answer key

  1. branch — a division
  2. prune — to trim
  3. fork — to eat with
  4. fork — a garden tool
  5. band — a rubber band
  6. lash — a whip stroke
  7. chair — to sit on
  8. straw — dry grass
  9. prune — to trim
  10. band — a ring
  11. lash — an eyelash
  12. branch — of a tree
  13. straw — to clutch at straws
  14. straw — a straw man
  15. chair — a leader
  16. deal — a big deal
  17. lash — to lash out
  18. fork — in a road
  19. deal — an agreement
  20. band — a music group
  21. deal — to handle
  22. chair — a professorship
  23. prune — the fruit
  24. branch — of a bank

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