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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: straw · sharp · last · patient · fork · game · branch · mine

  1. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  2. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  3. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  4. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  5. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  6. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  7. False peace will not ________________.
  8. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  9. That was a fun ________________.
  10. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  11. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  12. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  13. It's one o'clock ________________.
  14. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  15. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  16. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  17. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  18. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  19. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  20. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  21. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  22. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  23. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  24. This knife is not ________________ enough.

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

Answer key

  1. mine — belonging to me
  2. branch — of a bank
  3. straw — dry grass
  4. fork — in a road
  5. branch — a division
  6. sharp — clever
  7. last — to go on
  8. fork — a garden tool
  9. game — a match
  10. patient — calm and waiting
  11. mine — an explosive
  12. patient — a sick person
  13. sharp — exactly
  14. straw — to clutch at straws
  15. patient — a sick person
  16. last — finally
  17. game — wild animals
  18. mine — for digging
  19. last — final
  20. branch — of a tree
  21. fork — to eat with
  22. straw — a straw man
  23. game — a kind of play
  24. sharp — with an edge

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