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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. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  3. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  4. Don't do anything ________________.
  5. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  6. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  7. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  8. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  9. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  10. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  11. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  12. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  13. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  14. He is an ace ________________.
  15. That was a fun ________________.
  16. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  17. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  18. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  19. We're on a ________________ here.
  20. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  21. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  22. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  23. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  24. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.

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

Answer key

  1. fork — to eat with
  2. roll — a list
  3. fan — a supporter
  4. rash — hasty
  5. rash — a series
  6. fan — a supporter
  7. branch — of a tree
  8. roll — a cake
  9. pitcher — a jug
  10. bore — gave birth
  11. game — a kind of play
  12. bore — to drill
  13. bore — to tire
  14. pitcher — in baseball
  15. game — a match
  16. fork — in a road
  17. game — wild animals
  18. fork — a garden tool
  19. roll — on a roll
  20. fan — to cool the air
  21. branch — of a bank
  22. rash — on the skin
  23. branch — a division
  24. pitcher — a jug

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