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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. Don't do anything ________________.
  2. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  3. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  4. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  5. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  6. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  7. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  8. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  9. This piece is in a major ________________.
  10. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  11. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  12. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  13. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  14. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  15. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  16. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  17. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  18. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  19. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  20. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  21. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  22. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  23. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  24. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.

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

Answer key

  1. rash — hasty
  2. trunk — of a car
  3. branch — a division
  4. fork — to eat with
  5. present — a gift
  6. bat — the animal
  7. rash — on the skin
  8. key — the most important part
  9. key — in music
  10. branch — of a tree
  11. key — for a lock
  12. fork — in a road
  13. wax — in the ear
  14. branch — of a bank
  15. present — the time now
  16. bat — in an idiom
  17. trunk — of a tree
  18. wax — for sculpting
  19. bat — for baseball
  20. present — there
  21. rash — a series
  22. wax — to grow
  23. trunk — of an elephant
  24. fork — a garden tool

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