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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. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  2. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  3. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  4. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  5. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  6. The tickets are free of ________________.
  7. I'll be taking the ________________.
  8. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  9. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  10. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  11. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  12. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  13. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  14. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  15. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  16. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  17. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  18. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  19. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  20. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  21. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  22. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  23. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  24. Where can I ________________ my mobile?

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

Answer key

  1. wake — to stop sleeping
  2. branch — of a tree
  3. fork — a garden tool
  4. field — a subject
  5. bear — to put up with
  6. charge — a price
  7. tube — the underground
  8. fork — to eat with
  9. tube — in a tire
  10. tear — to rip
  11. field — farmland
  12. wake — a trail
  13. fork — in a road
  14. tear — from crying
  15. tear — from crying
  16. tube — a container
  17. bear — the animal
  18. bear — the animal
  19. wake — before a funeral
  20. branch — a division
  21. branch — of a bank
  22. charge — in control
  23. field — for sport
  24. charge — electricity

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