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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. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  2. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  3. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  4. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  5. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  6. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  7. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  8. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  9. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  10. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  11. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  12. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  13. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  14. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  15. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  16. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  17. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  18. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  19. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  20. I can't ________________ this cold.
  21. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  22. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  23. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  24. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. fork — a garden tool
  2. degree — from a university
  3. branch — a division
  4. straw — a straw man
  5. branch — of a tree
  6. fork — in a road
  7. wake — to stop sleeping
  8. straw — dry grass
  9. wake — before a funeral
  10. branch — of a bank
  11. wave — of the sea
  12. straw — to clutch at straws
  13. chest — of your body
  14. chest — a box
  15. wake — a trail
  16. stand — on your feet
  17. fork — to eat with
  18. degree — an amount
  19. wave — a sudden rise
  20. stand — to bear
  21. degree — temperature
  22. wave — with your hand
  23. chest — of your body
  24. stand — for spectators

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