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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. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  3. He was locked up in a ________________.
  4. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  5. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  6. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  7. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  8. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  9. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  10. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  11. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  12. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  13. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  14. That was a fun ________________.
  15. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  16. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  17. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  18. This piece is in a major ________________.
  19. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  20. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  21. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  22. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  23. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  24. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.

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

Answer key

  1. fork — to eat with
  2. fork — a garden tool
  3. cell — in a prison
  4. cell — a phone
  5. branch — of a bank
  6. root — the cause
  7. key — the most important part
  8. wake — to stop sleeping
  9. game — wild animals
  10. cell — in biology
  11. branch — of a tree
  12. root — of a plant
  13. fork — in a road
  14. game — a match
  15. clip — for paper
  16. key — for a lock
  17. root — of a word
  18. key — in music
  19. branch — a division
  20. game — a kind of play
  21. clip — to cut
  22. clip — a video
  23. wake — a trail
  24. wake — before a funeral

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