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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.

Make a worksheet

Students read each sentence and write the missing word. Every word appears in several sentences, each time with a different meaning.

Words on the sheet
468
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: branch · spell · court · fork · hide · file

  1. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  2. How do you ________________ your surname?
  3. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  4. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  5. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  6. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  7. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  8. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  9. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  10. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  11. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  12. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  13. The ball is in your ________________.
  14. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  15. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  16. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  17. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  18. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.

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

Answer key

  1. hide — to keep secret
  2. spell — letters
  3. hide — to keep secret
  4. branch — a division
  5. fork — to eat with
  6. court — of a king
  7. court — of law
  8. spell — a short time
  9. file — a line of people
  10. spell — magic
  11. fork — a garden tool
  12. branch — of a bank
  13. court — for sport
  14. hide — animal skin
  15. branch — of a tree
  16. file — a tool
  17. file — a document
  18. fork — in a road

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