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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 · clip · arm · shower · mine · bark · branch · temple

  1. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  2. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  3. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  4. My father caught me by the ________________.
  5. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  6. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  7. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  8. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  9. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  10. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  11. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  12. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  13. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  14. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  15. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  16. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  17. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  18. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  19. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  20. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  21. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  22. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  23. When was this ________________ built?
  24. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.

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

Answer key

  1. shower — a meteor shower
  2. temple — side of the head
  3. fork — in a road
  4. arm — part of the body
  5. mine — belonging to me
  6. branch — a division
  7. arm — a part of something
  8. fork — to eat with
  9. bark — to shout
  10. mine — for digging
  11. bark — a dog's sound
  12. arm — part of the body
  13. clip — for paper
  14. fork — a garden tool
  15. mine — an explosive
  16. bark — of a tree
  17. shower — rain
  18. branch — of a bank
  19. shower — to wash
  20. branch — of a tree
  21. clip — to cut
  22. clip — a video
  23. temple — a place of worship
  24. temple — a place of worship

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