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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 116 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. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  2. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  3. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  4. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  5. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  6. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  7. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  8. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  9. The ________________ went through the wall.
  10. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  11. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  12. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  13. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  14. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  15. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  16. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  17. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  18. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  19. The water is too ________________.
  20. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  21. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  22. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  23. I can't ________________ this cold.
  24. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.

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

Answer key

  1. bear — to put up with
  2. nail — for a hammer
  3. cold — an illness
  4. fork — to eat with
  5. bear — the animal
  6. leaves — to go away
  7. branch — of a bank
  8. branch — of a tree
  9. nail — for a hammer
  10. stand — on your feet
  11. leaves — of a tree
  12. bear — the animal
  13. fork — in a road
  14. fan — to cool the air
  15. stand — for spectators
  16. fan — a supporter
  17. leaves — lets stay
  18. fork — a garden tool
  19. cold — not warm
  20. branch — a division
  21. fan — a supporter
  22. nail — on a finger
  23. stand — to bear
  24. cold — the Cold War

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