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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. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  2. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  3. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  4. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  5. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  6. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  7. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  8. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  9. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  10. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  11. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  12. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  13. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  14. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  15. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  16. The ball is in your ________________.
  17. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  18. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  19. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  20. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  21. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  22. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  23. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  24. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.

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

Answer key

  1. fork — in a road
  2. straw — to clutch at straws
  3. branch — a division
  4. capital — a big letter
  5. court — of a king
  6. capital — money
  7. fan — a supporter
  8. clip — a video
  9. calf — a young animal
  10. straw — dry grass
  11. capital — a city
  12. branch — of a bank
  13. clip — to cut
  14. fork — to eat with
  15. calf — of the leg
  16. court — for sport
  17. fan — a supporter
  18. straw — a straw man
  19. fork — a garden tool
  20. court — of law
  21. fan — to cool the air
  22. clip — for paper
  23. branch — of a tree
  24. calf — a young animal

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