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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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Word bank
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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: fork · branch · cell · wind · content · firm

  1. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  2. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  3. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  4. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  5. He was locked up in a ________________.
  6. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  7. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  8. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  9. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  10. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  11. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  12. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  13. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  14. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  15. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  16. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  17. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  18. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.

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

Answer key

  1. wind — moving air
  2. content — happy
  3. cell — a phone
  4. content — videos and posts
  5. cell — in a prison
  6. branch — a division
  7. cell — in biology
  8. fork — to eat with
  9. branch — of a tree
  10. wind — moving air
  11. content — the amount
  12. firm — a company
  13. wind — to turn a key
  14. fork — a garden tool
  15. fork — in a road
  16. branch — of a bank
  17. firm — decided
  18. firm — steady

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