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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. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  2. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  3. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  4. The water is too ________________.
  5. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  6. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  7. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  8. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  9. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  10. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  11. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  12. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  13. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  14. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  15. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  16. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  17. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  18. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  19. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  20. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  21. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  22. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  23. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  24. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.

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

Answer key

  1. firm — decided
  2. lie — to recline
  3. wake — a trail
  4. cold — not warm
  5. fine — a penalty
  6. wake — before a funeral
  7. fork — in a road
  8. file — a tool
  9. branch — of a tree
  10. fork — to eat with
  11. file — a line of people
  12. branch — of a bank
  13. lie — an untruth
  14. firm — a company
  15. cold — the Cold War
  16. fine — high quality
  17. file — a document
  18. cold — an illness
  19. lie — an untruth
  20. fine — all right
  21. branch — a division
  22. wake — to stop sleeping
  23. firm — steady
  24. fork — a garden tool

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