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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. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  2. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  3. The ball is in your ________________.
  4. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  5. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  6. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  7. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  8. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  9. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  10. He was locked up in a ________________.
  11. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  12. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  13. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  14. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  15. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  16. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  17. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  18. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  19. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  20. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  21. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  22. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  23. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  24. Biology is a ________________ of science.

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

Answer key

  1. fork — to eat with
  2. file — a tool
  3. court — for sport
  4. fork — in a road
  5. mouse — the animal
  6. mouse — for a computer
  7. court — of law
  8. firm — a company
  9. file — a line of people
  10. cell — in a prison
  11. firm — decided
  12. mouse — the animal
  13. hand — help
  14. cell — in biology
  15. court — of a king
  16. file — a document
  17. branch — of a bank
  18. branch — of a tree
  19. fork — a garden tool
  20. firm — steady
  21. hand — in cards
  22. cell — a phone
  23. hand — part of the body
  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