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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 120 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. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  2. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  3. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  4. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  5. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  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. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  9. It's one o'clock ________________.
  10. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  11. There's no middle ________________.
  12. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  13. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  14. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  15. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  16. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  17. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  18. That was ________________ to happen.
  19. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  20. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  21. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  22. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  23. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  24. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. spring — a coil
  2. sharp — with an edge
  3. bound — obliged
  4. spring — the season
  5. calf — of the leg
  6. branch — of a bank
  7. fork — in a road
  8. bound — tied together
  9. sharp — exactly
  10. fork — a garden tool
  11. ground — a position
  12. hand — help
  13. ground — crushed
  14. branch — a division
  15. branch — of a tree
  16. calf — a young animal
  17. spring — of water
  18. bound — certain
  19. calf — a young animal
  20. fork — to eat with
  21. ground — the earth
  22. sharp — clever
  23. hand — in cards
  24. hand — part of the body

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