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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: land · file · branch · roll · hand · fork · march · bear

  1. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  2. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  3. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  4. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  5. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  6. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  7. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  8. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  9. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  10. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  11. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  12. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  13. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  14. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  15. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  16. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  17. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  18. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  19. When are we going to ________________?
  20. We're on a ________________ here.
  21. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  22. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  23. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  24. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. hand — part of the body
  2. branch — a division
  3. file — a tool
  4. branch — of a bank
  5. march — the month
  6. file — a document
  7. fork — to eat with
  8. fork — in a road
  9. file — a line of people
  10. bear — the animal
  11. fork — a garden tool
  12. roll — a cake
  13. hand — in cards
  14. march — the month
  15. march — music
  16. bear — to put up with
  17. branch — of a tree
  18. land — ground
  19. land — to come down
  20. roll — on a roll
  21. roll — a list
  22. land — a country
  23. hand — help
  24. bear — the 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