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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. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  2. That was a fun ________________.
  3. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  4. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  5. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  6. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  7. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  8. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  9. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  10. What do you think of the new ________________?
  11. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  12. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  13. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  14. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  15. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  16. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  17. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  18. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  19. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  20. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  21. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  22. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  23. The water is too ________________.
  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. cabinet — a cupboard
  2. game — a match
  3. mouse — for a computer
  4. branch — of a tree
  5. branch — a division
  6. branch — of a bank
  7. rest — what's left
  8. rest — a break
  9. cabinet — ministers
  10. cabinet — ministers
  11. fork — a garden tool
  12. craft — a skill
  13. craft — boats
  14. mouse — the animal
  15. mouse — the animal
  16. rest — what's left
  17. craft — a handicraft
  18. fork — to eat with
  19. cold — an illness
  20. cold — the Cold War
  21. game — wild animals
  22. game — a kind of play
  23. cold — not warm
  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