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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 120 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: mate · kick · lie · wound · scale · branch · fork · net

  1. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  2. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  3. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  4. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  5. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  6. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  7. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  8. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  9. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  10. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  11. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  12. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  13. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  14. Have you found your soul ________________?
  15. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  16. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  17. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  18. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  19. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  20. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  21. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  22. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  23. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  24. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.

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

Answer key

  1. mate — a friend
  2. kick — in football
  3. branch — of a tree
  4. branch — of a bank
  5. kick — with a leg
  6. fork — to eat with
  7. net — for catching
  8. branch — a division
  9. lie — an untruth
  10. lie — an untruth
  11. wound — an injury
  12. kick — a thrill
  13. fork — a garden tool
  14. mate — a partner
  15. wound — past of 'wind'
  16. lie — to recline
  17. wound — an injury
  18. scale — in music
  19. net — in sport
  20. mate — to breed
  21. scale — size or range
  22. net — after costs
  23. fork — in a road
  24. scale — for weighing

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