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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. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  2. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  3. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  4. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  5. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  6. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  7. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  8. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  9. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  10. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  11. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  12. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  13. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  14. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  15. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  16. He works in a ________________ mill.
  17. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  18. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  19. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  20. She's very handy with a ________________.
  21. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  22. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  23. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  24. The ball is in your ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. file — a document
  2. fork — to eat with
  3. chair — a professorship
  4. file — a line of people
  5. fork — a garden tool
  6. bear — the animal
  7. fork — in a road
  8. dip — to dunk
  9. chair — to sit on
  10. file — a tool
  11. court — of a king
  12. dip — to sink
  13. dip — a sauce
  14. bear — the animal
  15. chair — a leader
  16. saw — the tool
  17. branch — of a bank
  18. court — of law
  19. branch — a division
  20. saw — the tool
  21. bear — to put up with
  22. saw — past of 'see'
  23. branch — of a tree
  24. court — for sport

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