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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. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  3. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  4. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  5. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  6. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  7. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  8. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  9. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  10. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  11. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  12. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  13. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  14. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  15. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  16. Did you ________________ the button?
  17. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  18. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  19. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  20. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  21. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  22. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  23. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  24. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. fork — to eat with
  2. fork — a garden tool
  3. drill — a practice
  4. branch — of a tree
  5. content — happy
  6. content — the amount
  7. fork — in a road
  8. hand — in cards
  9. press — a publisher
  10. hand — help
  11. wax — in the ear
  12. press — newspapers
  13. wax — to grow
  14. branch — of a bank
  15. drill — the tool
  16. press — to push
  17. bark — to shout
  18. wax — for sculpting
  19. bark — of a tree
  20. bark — a dog's sound
  21. content — videos and posts
  22. drill — army training
  23. branch — a division
  24. hand — part of the body

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