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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. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  2. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  3. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  4. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  5. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  6. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  7. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  8. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  9. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  10. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  11. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  12. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  13. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  14. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  15. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  16. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  17. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  18. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  19. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  20. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  21. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  22. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  23. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  24. The ________________ took off on time.

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

Answer key

  1. fork — in a road
  2. row — a line
  3. staff — employees
  4. spring — a coil
  5. branch — of a tree
  6. spring — the season
  7. lean — to bend
  8. branch — of a bank
  9. plane — in geometry
  10. prune — to trim
  11. plane — a tool
  12. fork — to eat with
  13. prune — the fruit
  14. staff — a stick
  15. lean — to rest against
  16. row — a quarrel
  17. lean — thin
  18. row — to paddle
  19. spring — of water
  20. fork — a garden tool
  21. branch — a division
  22. prune — to trim
  23. staff — employees
  24. plane — an aircraft

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