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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. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  2. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  3. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  4. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  5. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  6. Have you settled on a ________________?
  7. Have you met the new head ________________?
  8. He was locked up in a ________________.
  9. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  10. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  11. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  12. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  13. You don't need to ________________ round.
  14. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  15. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  16. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  17. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  18. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  19. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  20. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  21. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  22. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  23. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  24. We're almost out of ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. fork — in a road
  2. coach — pulled by horses
  3. fork — to eat with
  4. pound — for dogs
  5. pop — music
  6. date — on the calendar
  7. coach — a trainer
  8. cell — in a prison
  9. fork — a garden tool
  10. wound — an injury
  11. branch — of a bank
  12. date — on the calendar
  13. pop — to visit
  14. cell — a phone
  15. branch — a division
  16. pound — a weight
  17. branch — of a tree
  18. date — the fruit
  19. coach — a trainer
  20. pound — to hit hard
  21. wound — an injury
  22. wound — past of 'wind'
  23. cell — in biology
  24. pop — soda

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