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

Word bank: wound · wake · fall · branch · jam · row · object · fork

  1. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  2. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  3. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  4. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  5. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  6. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  7. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  8. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  9. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  10. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  11. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  12. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  13. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  14. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  15. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  16. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  17. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  18. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  19. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  20. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  21. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  22. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  23. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  24. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.

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

Answer key

  1. wake — to stop sleeping
  2. fall — to drop
  3. jam — in traffic
  4. branch — of a tree
  5. fork — in a road
  6. object — a thing
  7. row — a quarrel
  8. fall — the season
  9. wake — before a funeral
  10. object — to protest
  11. branch — a division
  12. jam — a tight spot
  13. wake — a trail
  14. row — a line
  15. fork — a garden tool
  16. fork — to eat with
  17. fall — to drop
  18. row — to paddle
  19. wound — an injury
  20. object — an aim
  21. wound — an injury
  22. wound — past of 'wind'
  23. jam — to spread on bread
  24. branch — of a bank

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