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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: court · fork · key · perch · branch · file · lean · mine

  1. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  2. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  3. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  4. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  5. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  6. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  7. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  8. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  9. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  10. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  11. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  12. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  13. This piece is in a major ________________.
  14. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  15. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  16. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  17. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  18. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  19. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  20. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  21. The ball is in your ________________.
  22. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  23. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  24. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.

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

Answer key

  1. key — the most important part
  2. key — for a lock
  3. mine — an explosive
  4. lean — to rest against
  5. perch — for a bird
  6. lean — thin
  7. mine — for digging
  8. file — a document
  9. file — a line of people
  10. mine — belonging to me
  11. perch — the fish
  12. court — of a king
  13. key — in music
  14. fork — in a road
  15. branch — of a bank
  16. file — a tool
  17. branch — a division
  18. fork — to eat with
  19. lean — to bend
  20. branch — of a tree
  21. court — for sport
  22. fork — a garden tool
  23. perch — for a bird
  24. court — of law

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