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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 116 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. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  2. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  3. He works in a ________________ mill.
  4. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  5. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  6. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  7. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  8. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  9. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  10. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  11. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  12. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  13. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  14. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  15. She's very handy with a ________________.
  16. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  17. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  18. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  19. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  20. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  21. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  22. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  23. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  24. Biology is a ________________ of science.

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

Answer key

  1. perch — the fish
  2. bat — the animal
  3. saw — the tool
  4. fork — in a road
  5. wound — an injury
  6. branch — of a bank
  7. firm — a company
  8. branch — of a tree
  9. bat — for baseball
  10. clip — for paper
  11. clip — a video
  12. wound — past of 'wind'
  13. firm — steady
  14. saw — past of 'see'
  15. saw — the tool
  16. fork — a garden tool
  17. bat — in an idiom
  18. clip — to cut
  19. fork — to eat with
  20. firm — decided
  21. perch — for a bird
  22. wound — an injury
  23. perch — for a bird
  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