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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. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  3. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  4. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  5. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  6. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  7. False peace will not ________________.
  8. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  9. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  10. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  11. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  12. Where did you ________________ them?
  13. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  14. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  15. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  16. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  17. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  18. We're on a ________________ here.
  19. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  20. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  21. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  22. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  23. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  24. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.

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

Answer key

  1. fork — a garden tool
  2. mug — a cup
  3. last — final
  4. branch — of a bank
  5. roll — a cake
  6. craft — a handicraft
  7. last — to go on
  8. branch — of a tree
  9. fork — to eat with
  10. capital — a city
  11. capital — a big letter
  12. mug — to rob
  13. chest — of your body
  14. roll — a list
  15. branch — a division
  16. chest — a box
  17. capital — money
  18. roll — on a roll
  19. fork — in a road
  20. last — finally
  21. craft — boats
  22. chest — of your body
  23. mug — a face
  24. craft — a skill

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