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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. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  2. How do you ________________ your surname?
  3. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  4. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  5. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  6. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  7. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  8. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  9. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  10. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  11. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  12. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  13. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  14. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  15. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  16. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  17. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  18. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  19. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  20. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  21. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  22. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  23. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  24. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. fork — a garden tool
  2. spell — letters
  3. shower — rain
  4. fork — to eat with
  5. branch — a division
  6. squash — the vegetable
  7. calf — a young animal
  8. branch — of a tree
  9. shower — to wash
  10. scale — for weighing
  11. branch — of a bank
  12. calf — a young animal
  13. scale — size or range
  14. fork — in a road
  15. calf — of the leg
  16. fan — a supporter
  17. squash — the sport
  18. squash — to crush
  19. shower — a meteor shower
  20. spell — a short time
  21. fan — to cool the air
  22. fan — a supporter
  23. spell — magic
  24. scale — in music

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