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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 usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  2. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  3. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  4. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  5. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  6. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  7. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  8. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  9. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  10. That must've been a ________________.
  11. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  12. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  13. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  14. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  15. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  16. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  17. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  18. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  19. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  20. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  21. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  22. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  23. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  24. Biology is a ________________ of science.

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

Answer key

  1. fork — to eat with
  2. branch — of a tree
  3. wound — past of 'wind'
  4. wound — an injury
  5. bore — gave birth
  6. rush — hurry
  7. bore — to drill
  8. pitch — a sales talk
  9. pitch — a sports field
  10. rush — a thrill
  11. chair — a professorship
  12. wound — an injury
  13. chair — to sit on
  14. field — for sport
  15. rush — to hurry
  16. bore — to tire
  17. field — a subject
  18. fork — a garden tool
  19. field — farmland
  20. branch — of a bank
  21. chair — a leader
  22. fork — in a road
  23. pitch — completely
  24. branch — a division

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