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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 120 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. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  3. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  4. The ________________ market has crashed.
  5. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  6. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  7. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  8. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  9. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  10. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  11. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  12. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  13. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  14. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  15. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  16. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  17. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  18. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  19. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  20. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  21. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  22. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  23. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  24. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. branch — a division
  2. bore — gave birth
  3. fork — a garden tool
  4. stock — shares
  5. fork — to eat with
  6. branch — of a bank
  7. wind — moving air
  8. bore — to tire
  9. stock — a soup base
  10. bore — to drill
  11. patient — calm and waiting
  12. wound — an injury
  13. stock — goods
  14. file — a document
  15. patient — a sick person
  16. wound — past of 'wind'
  17. branch — of a tree
  18. wind — moving air
  19. patient — a sick person
  20. file — a line of people
  21. wind — to turn a key
  22. wound — an injury
  23. fork — in a road
  24. file — a 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