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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. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  2. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  3. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  4. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  5. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  6. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  7. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  8. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  9. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  10. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  11. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  12. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  13. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  14. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  15. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  16. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  17. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  18. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  19. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  20. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  21. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  22. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  23. Have you met the new head ________________?
  24. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.

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

Answer key

  1. mark — to pay attention
  2. fork — to eat with
  3. coach — a trainer
  4. stem — to come from
  5. branch — of a bank
  6. branch — of a tree
  7. tear — from crying
  8. file — a tool
  9. mark — a trace
  10. stem — of a plant
  11. vault — a safe
  12. tear — to rip
  13. fork — a garden tool
  14. vault — an arched ceiling
  15. tear — from crying
  16. coach — pulled by horses
  17. mark — a grade
  18. branch — a division
  19. stem — a stem cell
  20. fork — in a road
  21. vault — in gymnastics
  22. file — a line of people
  23. coach — a trainer
  24. file — a document

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