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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. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  2. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  3. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  4. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  5. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  6. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  7. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  8. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  9. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  10. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  11. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  12. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  13. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  14. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  15. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  16. I'll be taking the ________________.
  17. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  18. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  19. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  20. False peace will not ________________.
  21. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  22. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  23. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  24. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.

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

Answer key

  1. branch — a division
  2. fork — a garden tool
  3. branch — of a bank
  4. wound — an injury
  5. can — a tin
  6. last — final
  7. spring — a coil
  8. tube — in a tire
  9. wound — past of 'wind'
  10. bark — of a tree
  11. spring — the season
  12. fork — to eat with
  13. wound — an injury
  14. can — to be able to
  15. can — a tin
  16. tube — the underground
  17. bark — to shout
  18. spring — of water
  19. tube — a container
  20. last — to go on
  21. fork — in a road
  22. bark — a dog's sound
  23. last — finally
  24. branch — of a tree

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