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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. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  2. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  3. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  4. The ________________ market has crashed.
  5. The ball is in your ________________.
  6. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  7. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  8. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  9. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  10. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  11. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  12. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  13. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  14. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  15. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  16. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  17. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  18. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  19. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  20. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  21. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  22. The light ________________ burned out.
  23. I've got to change the light ________________.
  24. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.

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

Answer key

  1. fork — a garden tool
  2. firm — a company
  3. firm — decided
  4. stock — shares
  5. court — for sport
  6. hand — help
  7. drill — the tool
  8. stock — a soup base
  9. court — of law
  10. firm — steady
  11. hand — in cards
  12. drill — army training
  13. drill — a practice
  14. branch — of a tree
  15. branch — of a bank
  16. court — of a king
  17. branch — a division
  18. fork — in a road
  19. stock — goods
  20. hand — part of the body
  21. fork — to eat with
  22. bulb — for light
  23. bulb — for light
  24. bulb — of a plant

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