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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. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  2. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  3. He works in a ________________ mill.
  4. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  5. She's very handy with a ________________.
  6. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  7. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  8. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  9. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  10. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  11. When are we going to ________________?
  12. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  13. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  14. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  15. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  16. I'll be taking the ________________.
  17. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  18. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  19. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  20. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  21. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  22. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  23. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  24. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.

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

Answer key

  1. row — a line
  2. shower — a meteor shower
  3. saw — the tool
  4. fork — in a road
  5. saw — the tool
  6. shower — rain
  7. tube — in a tire
  8. shower — to wash
  9. branch — of a bank
  10. row — to paddle
  11. land — to come down
  12. content — the amount
  13. row — a quarrel
  14. content — happy
  15. land — a country
  16. tube — the underground
  17. fork — a garden tool
  18. branch — of a tree
  19. land — ground
  20. content — videos and posts
  21. tube — a container
  22. branch — a division
  23. saw — past of 'see'
  24. fork — to eat with

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