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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. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  3. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  4. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  5. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  6. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  7. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  8. Have you settled on a ________________?
  9. That was ________________ to happen.
  10. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  11. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  12. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  13. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  14. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  15. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  16. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  17. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  18. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  19. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  20. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  21. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  22. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  23. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  24. False peace will not ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. branch — a division
  2. fork — to eat with
  3. bound — tied together
  4. content — happy
  5. branch — of a bank
  6. branch — of a tree
  7. racket — a loud noise
  8. date — on the calendar
  9. bound — certain
  10. bound — obliged
  11. racket — for tennis
  12. fork — a garden tool
  13. fork — in a road
  14. content — the amount
  15. last — final
  16. object — a thing
  17. date — the fruit
  18. date — on the calendar
  19. content — videos and posts
  20. last — finally
  21. racket — for tennis
  22. object — to protest
  23. object — an aim
  24. last — to go on

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