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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 124 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. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  2. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  3. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  4. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  5. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  6. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  7. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  8. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  9. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  10. He is an ace ________________.
  11. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  12. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  13. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  14. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  15. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  16. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  17. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  18. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  19. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  20. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  21. There's no middle ________________.
  22. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  23. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  24. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.

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

Answer key

  1. trunk — of a car
  2. branch — of a tree
  3. fork — to eat with
  4. ground — the earth
  5. trunk — of an elephant
  6. branch — a division
  7. prune — to trim
  8. pitcher — a jug
  9. pitcher — a jug
  10. pitcher — in baseball
  11. fork — a garden tool
  12. bore — to tire
  13. bore — gave birth
  14. trunk — of a tree
  15. file — a document
  16. bore — to drill
  17. prune — the fruit
  18. branch — of a bank
  19. ground — crushed
  20. file — a line of people
  21. ground — a position
  22. prune — to trim
  23. file — a tool
  24. fork — in a road

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