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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. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  2. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  3. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  4. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  5. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  6. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  7. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  8. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  9. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  10. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  11. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  12. It's one o'clock ________________.
  13. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  14. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  15. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  16. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  17. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  18. How do you ________________ your surname?
  19. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  20. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  21. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  22. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  23. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  24. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.

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

Answer key

  1. sharp — with an edge
  2. fork — a garden tool
  3. prune — the fruit
  4. branch — of a bank
  5. club — a group
  6. spell — a short time
  7. club — for dancing
  8. club — for golf
  9. prune — to trim
  10. sharp — clever
  11. patient — a sick person
  12. sharp — exactly
  13. spell — magic
  14. bat — in an idiom
  15. bat — the animal
  16. branch — a division
  17. fork — in a road
  18. spell — letters
  19. patient — a sick person
  20. bat — for baseball
  21. prune — to trim
  22. patient — calm and waiting
  23. fork — to eat with
  24. branch — of a tree

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