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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. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  2. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  3. What do you think of the new ________________?
  4. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  5. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  6. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  7. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  8. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  9. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  10. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  11. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  12. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  13. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  14. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  15. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  16. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  17. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  18. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  19. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  20. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  21. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  22. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  23. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  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. branch — of a bank
  2. fork — a garden tool
  3. cabinet — ministers
  4. foot — part of the body
  5. clip — for paper
  6. cabinet — a cupboard
  7. content — the amount
  8. content — happy
  9. foot — the bottom
  10. spring — the season
  11. cabinet — ministers
  12. staff — employees
  13. spring — a coil
  14. branch — of a tree
  15. foot — a measure
  16. spring — of water
  17. clip — to cut
  18. branch — a division
  19. content — videos and posts
  20. staff — a stick
  21. fork — in a road
  22. staff — employees
  23. clip — a video
  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