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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. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  2. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  3. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  4. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  5. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  6. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  7. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  8. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  9. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  10. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  11. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  12. What do you think of the new ________________?
  13. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  14. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  15. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  16. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  17. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  18. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  19. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  20. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  21. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  22. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  23. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  24. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.

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

Answer key

  1. cabinet — a cupboard
  2. fork — a garden tool
  3. club — for dancing
  4. branch — of a bank
  5. fork — in a road
  6. march — the month
  7. hand — help
  8. club — for golf
  9. pound — for dogs
  10. hand — in cards
  11. pound — a weight
  12. cabinet — ministers
  13. hand — part of the body
  14. march — the month
  15. mine — for digging
  16. branch — a division
  17. pound — to hit hard
  18. cabinet — ministers
  19. mine — an explosive
  20. club — a group
  21. mine — belonging to me
  22. branch — of a tree
  23. march — music
  24. fork — to eat with

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