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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 116 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. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  2. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  3. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  4. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  5. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  6. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  7. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  8. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  9. The water is too ________________.
  10. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  11. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  12. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  13. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  14. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  15. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  16. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  17. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  18. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  19. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  20. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  21. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  22. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  23. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  24. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.

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

Answer key

  1. fork — to eat with
  2. fork — in a road
  3. branch — a division
  4. present — a gift
  5. cold — the Cold War
  6. fork — a garden tool
  7. prune — the fruit
  8. ruler — for measuring
  9. cold — not warm
  10. fall — to drop
  11. prune — to trim
  12. branch — of a bank
  13. prune — to trim
  14. ruler — for measuring
  15. board — a flat piece
  16. fall — the season
  17. branch — of a tree
  18. board — a committee
  19. ruler — a monarch
  20. fall — to drop
  21. board — to get on
  22. present — the time now
  23. cold — an illness
  24. present — there

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