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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. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  2. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  3. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  4. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  5. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  6. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  7. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  8. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  9. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  10. He is an ace ________________.
  11. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  12. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  13. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  14. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  15. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  16. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  17. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  18. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  19. This piece is in a major ________________.
  20. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  21. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  22. How do you ________________ your surname?
  23. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  24. Biology is a ________________ of science.

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

Answer key

  1. present — a gift
  2. pitcher — a jug
  3. fork — to eat with
  4. tear — to rip
  5. bass — low music
  6. spell — a short time
  7. pitcher — a jug
  8. present — the time now
  9. fork — in a road
  10. pitcher — in baseball
  11. key — the most important part
  12. key — for a lock
  13. branch — of a bank
  14. tear — from crying
  15. bass — the instrument
  16. fork — a garden tool
  17. bass — the fish
  18. present — there
  19. key — in music
  20. tear — from crying
  21. branch — of a tree
  22. spell — letters
  23. spell — magic
  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