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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. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  2. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  3. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  4. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  5. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  6. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  7. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  8. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  9. The water is too ________________.
  10. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  11. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  12. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  13. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  14. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  15. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  16. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  17. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  18. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  19. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  20. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  21. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  22. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  23. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  24. Biology is a ________________ of science.

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

Answer key

  1. fork — to eat with
  2. pass — to succeed
  3. firm — decided
  4. scale — size or range
  5. stem — a stem cell
  6. trunk — of an elephant
  7. fork — in a road
  8. cold — an illness
  9. cold — not warm
  10. firm — a company
  11. trunk — of a car
  12. stem — of a plant
  13. trunk — of a tree
  14. branch — of a bank
  15. fork — a garden tool
  16. pass — to spend time
  17. branch — of a tree
  18. scale — in music
  19. scale — for weighing
  20. cold — the Cold War
  21. firm — steady
  22. stem — to come from
  23. pass — a permit
  24. branch — a division

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