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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. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  2. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  3. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  4. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  5. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  6. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  7. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  8. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  9. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  10. Have you settled on a ________________?
  11. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  12. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  13. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  14. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  15. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  16. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  17. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  18. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  19. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  20. That was ________________ to happen.
  21. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  22. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  23. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  24. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. branch — a division
  2. rest — what's left
  3. straw — dry grass
  4. fork — to eat with
  5. rest — a break
  6. bound — obliged
  7. cap — of ice
  8. cap — a hat
  9. straw — a straw man
  10. date — on the calendar
  11. shower — to wash
  12. shower — a meteor shower
  13. branch — of a tree
  14. straw — to clutch at straws
  15. date — the fruit
  16. shower — rain
  17. cap — a lid
  18. rest — what's left
  19. branch — of a bank
  20. bound — certain
  21. bound — tied together
  22. fork — in a road
  23. fork — a garden tool
  24. date — on the calendar

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