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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 120 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: fork · rest · saw · file · drill · kid · branch · row

  1. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  2. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  3. She's very handy with a ________________.
  4. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  5. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  6. He works in a ________________ mill.
  7. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  8. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  9. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  10. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  11. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  12. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  13. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  14. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  15. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  16. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  17. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  18. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  19. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  20. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  21. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  22. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  23. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  24. I would like to have a ________________ here.

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

Answer key

  1. branch — of a tree
  2. drill — army training
  3. saw — the tool
  4. drill — the tool
  5. row — a line
  6. saw — the tool
  7. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  8. kid — child
  9. saw — past of 'see'
  10. kid — to tease
  11. fork — a garden tool
  12. fork — to eat with
  13. file — a line of people
  14. row — a quarrel
  15. row — to paddle
  16. branch — of a bank
  17. file — a document
  18. file — a tool
  19. rest — what's left
  20. fork — in a road
  21. branch — a division
  22. rest — what's left
  23. drill — a practice
  24. rest — a break

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