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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. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  2. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  3. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  4. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  5. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  6. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  7. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  8. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  9. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  10. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  11. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  12. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  13. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  14. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  15. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  16. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  17. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  18. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  19. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  20. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  21. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  22. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  23. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  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. fork — a garden tool
  2. bowl — a dish
  3. branch — a division
  4. row — a quarrel
  5. wind — moving air
  6. rule — government
  7. bear — the animal
  8. row — a line
  9. file — a line of people
  10. wind — to turn a key
  11. wind — moving air
  12. rule — a law
  13. bear — the animal
  14. rule — to rule out
  15. branch — of a tree
  16. file — a tool
  17. branch — of a bank
  18. bear — to put up with
  19. row — to paddle
  20. bowl — a football final
  21. fork — to eat with
  22. file — a document
  23. bowl — to roll
  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