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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. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  2. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  3. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  4. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  5. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  6. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  7. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  8. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  9. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  10. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  11. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  12. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  13. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  14. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  15. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  16. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  17. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  18. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  19. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  20. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  21. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  22. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  23. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  24. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.

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

Answer key

  1. present — a gift
  2. mine — for digging
  3. lie — an untruth
  4. lie — to recline
  5. branch — a division
  6. branch — of a bank
  7. fork — in a road
  8. present — there
  9. wind — moving air
  10. branch — of a tree
  11. calf — of the leg
  12. calf — a young animal
  13. fork — a garden tool
  14. calf — a young animal
  15. mine — belonging to me
  16. row — a line
  17. mine — an explosive
  18. row — to paddle
  19. row — a quarrel
  20. fork — to eat with
  21. wind — to turn a key
  22. wind — moving air
  23. lie — an untruth
  24. present — the time now

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