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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. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  2. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  3. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  4. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  5. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  6. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  7. You don't need to ________________ round.
  8. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  9. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  10. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  11. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  12. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  13. He is an ace ________________.
  14. We're almost out of ________________.
  15. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  16. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  17. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  18. False peace will not ________________.
  19. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  20. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  21. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  22. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  23. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  24. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. last — finally
  2. rule — government
  3. fork — to eat with
  4. fork — a garden tool
  5. branch — of a tree
  6. hand — help
  7. pop — to visit
  8. fork — in a road
  9. hand — part of the body
  10. branch — of a bank
  11. pitcher — a jug
  12. hand — in cards
  13. pitcher — in baseball
  14. pop — soda
  15. last — final
  16. rule — to rule out
  17. rule — a law
  18. last — to go on
  19. bank — for money
  20. pitcher — a jug
  21. bank — for money
  22. pop — music
  23. branch — a division
  24. bank — of a river

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