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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. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  2. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  3. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  4. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  5. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  6. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  7. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  8. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  9. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  10. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  11. She's very handy with a ________________.
  12. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  13. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  14. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  15. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  16. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  17. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  18. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  19. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  20. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  21. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  22. He works in a ________________ mill.
  23. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  24. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.

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

Answer key

  1. trunk — of an elephant
  2. object — to protest
  3. mark — to pay attention
  4. branch — of a bank
  5. saw — past of 'see'
  6. object — a thing
  7. mark — a trace
  8. object — an aim
  9. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  10. fork — a garden tool
  11. saw — the tool
  12. trunk — of a car
  13. lean — to rest against
  14. mark — a grade
  15. kid — child
  16. lean — to bend
  17. kid — to tease
  18. lean — thin
  19. fork — in a road
  20. branch — a division
  21. fork — to eat with
  22. saw — the tool
  23. branch — of a tree
  24. trunk — of a tree

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