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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 · wake · bound · kick · spell · season · march · branch

  1. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  2. How do you ________________ your surname?
  3. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  4. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  5. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  6. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  7. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  8. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  9. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  10. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  11. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  12. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  13. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  14. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  15. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  16. That was ________________ to happen.
  17. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  18. Did you ________________ the meat?
  19. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  20. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  21. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  22. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  23. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  24. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.

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

Answer key

  1. fork — to eat with
  2. spell — letters
  3. kick — a thrill
  4. wake — before a funeral
  5. bound — obliged
  6. branch — of a tree
  7. kick — in football
  8. wake — a trail
  9. bound — tied together
  10. season — in sport
  11. kick — with a leg
  12. march — music
  13. branch — of a bank
  14. march — the month
  15. branch — a division
  16. bound — certain
  17. season — of the year
  18. season — to add flavour
  19. fork — in a road
  20. spell — magic
  21. march — the month
  22. fork — a garden tool
  23. wake — to stop sleeping
  24. spell — a short time

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