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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. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  3. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  4. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  5. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  6. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  7. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  8. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  9. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  10. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  11. That was ________________ to happen.
  12. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  13. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  14. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  15. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  16. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  17. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  18. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  19. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  20. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  21. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  22. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  23. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  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. fork — to eat with
  2. club — for dancing
  3. can — a tin
  4. wound — an injury
  5. can — a tin
  6. wound — past of 'wind'
  7. root — of a plant
  8. club — for golf
  9. bound — obliged
  10. branch — a division
  11. bound — certain
  12. root — the cause
  13. branch — of a bank
  14. wound — an injury
  15. root — of a word
  16. can — to be able to
  17. mine — an explosive
  18. bound — tied together
  19. club — a group
  20. branch — of a tree
  21. mine — for digging
  22. fork — in a road
  23. mine — belonging to me
  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