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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. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  2. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  3. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  4. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  5. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  6. Where did you ________________ them?
  7. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  8. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  9. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  10. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  11. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  12. The ball is in your ________________.
  13. It's one o'clock ________________.
  14. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  15. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  16. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  17. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  18. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  19. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  20. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  21. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  22. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  23. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  24. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.

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

Answer key

  1. fork — to eat with
  2. fall — to drop
  3. sharp — with an edge
  4. wound — an injury
  5. leaves — of a tree
  6. mug — to rob
  7. mug — a cup
  8. sharp — clever
  9. court — of law
  10. wound — past of 'wind'
  11. branch — of a tree
  12. court — for sport
  13. sharp — exactly
  14. wound — an injury
  15. branch — of a bank
  16. fall — the season
  17. court — of a king
  18. branch — a division
  19. fall — to drop
  20. leaves — lets stay
  21. fork — a garden tool
  22. fork — in a road
  23. leaves — to go away
  24. mug — a face

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