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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. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  2. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  3. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  4. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  5. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  6. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  7. He is an ace ________________.
  8. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  9. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  10. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  11. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  12. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  13. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  14. Have you found your soul ________________?
  15. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  16. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  17. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  18. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  19. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  20. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  21. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  22. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  23. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  24. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.

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

Answer key

  1. firm — decided
  2. fork — a garden tool
  3. kid — child
  4. pitcher — a jug
  5. scale — in music
  6. band — a ring
  7. pitcher — in baseball
  8. branch — of a tree
  9. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  10. band — a music group
  11. kid — to tease
  12. scale — for weighing
  13. fork — in a road
  14. mate — a partner
  15. fork — to eat with
  16. branch — of a bank
  17. mate — a friend
  18. firm — steady
  19. branch — a division
  20. scale — size or range
  21. pitcher — a jug
  22. firm — a company
  23. mate — to breed
  24. band — a rubber band

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