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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: kid · craft · game · fork · branch · file · cabinet · rest

  1. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  2. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  3. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  4. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  5. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  6. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  7. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  8. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  9. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  10. What do you think of the new ________________?
  11. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  12. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  13. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  14. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  15. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  16. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  17. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  18. That was a fun ________________.
  19. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  20. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  21. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  22. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  23. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  24. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.

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

Answer key

  1. fork — in a road
  2. fork — a garden tool
  3. rest — what's left
  4. branch — of a bank
  5. rest — what's left
  6. branch — a division
  7. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  8. rest — a break
  9. craft — a handicraft
  10. cabinet — ministers
  11. fork — to eat with
  12. cabinet — ministers
  13. kid — child
  14. kid — to tease
  15. file — a line of people
  16. cabinet — a cupboard
  17. craft — boats
  18. game — a match
  19. game — wild animals
  20. branch — of a tree
  21. craft — a skill
  22. game — a kind of play
  23. file — a tool
  24. file — a document

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