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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. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  2. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  3. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  4. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  5. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  6. When are we going to ________________?
  7. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  8. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  9. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  10. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  11. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  12. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  13. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  14. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  15. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  16. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  17. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  18. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  19. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  20. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  21. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  22. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  23. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  24. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bowl — a football final
  2. branch — a division
  3. wake — a trail
  4. fork — to eat with
  5. fork — a garden tool
  6. land — to come down
  7. scale — size or range
  8. land — ground
  9. branch — of a bank
  10. branch — of a tree
  11. file — a line of people
  12. board — to get on
  13. fork — in a road
  14. board — a flat piece
  15. wake — to stop sleeping
  16. file — a tool
  17. board — a committee
  18. wake — before a funeral
  19. scale — for weighing
  20. file — a document
  21. land — a country
  22. bowl — a dish
  23. bowl — to roll
  24. scale — in music

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