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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. Have you found your soul ________________?
  3. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  4. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  5. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  6. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  7. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  8. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  9. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  10. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  11. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  12. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  13. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  14. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  15. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  16. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  17. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  18. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  19. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  20. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  21. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  22. Have you met the new head ________________?
  23. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  24. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.

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

Answer key

  1. fork — to eat with
  2. mate — a partner
  3. fork — in a road
  4. mark — to pay attention
  5. present — a gift
  6. branch — of a bank
  7. degree — temperature
  8. degree — an amount
  9. mate — a friend
  10. coach — pulled by horses
  11. bark — to shout
  12. branch — a division
  13. degree — from a university
  14. fork — a garden tool
  15. bark — a dog's sound
  16. present — the time now
  17. mark — a trace
  18. mate — to breed
  19. bark — of a tree
  20. branch — of a tree
  21. present — there
  22. coach — a trainer
  23. mark — a grade
  24. coach — a trainer

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