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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: branch · patient · kid · fork · mine · kick · perch · ground

  1. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  2. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  3. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  4. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  5. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  6. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  7. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  8. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  9. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  10. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  11. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  12. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  13. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  14. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  15. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  16. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  17. There's no middle ________________.
  18. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  19. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  20. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  21. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  22. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  23. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  24. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.

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

Answer key

  1. branch — a division
  2. perch — for a bird
  3. mine — for digging
  4. patient — a sick person
  5. perch — the fish
  6. mine — belonging to me
  7. patient — a sick person
  8. kick — in football
  9. fork — to eat with
  10. ground — the earth
  11. ground — crushed
  12. patient — calm and waiting
  13. branch — of a tree
  14. kid — child
  15. kick — with a leg
  16. kid — to tease
  17. ground — a position
  18. branch — of a bank
  19. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  20. mine — an explosive
  21. fork — a garden tool
  22. fork — in a road
  23. perch — for a bird
  24. kick — a thrill

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