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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: bulb · hand · fork · key · mark · kid · wind · branch

  1. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  2. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  3. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  4. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  5. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  6. I've got to change the light ________________.
  7. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  8. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  9. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  10. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  11. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  12. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  13. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  14. This piece is in a major ________________.
  15. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  16. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  17. The light ________________ burned out.
  18. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  19. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  20. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  21. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  22. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  23. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  24. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.

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

Answer key

  1. fork — a garden tool
  2. wind — moving air
  3. mark — a trace
  4. branch — of a bank
  5. kid — child
  6. bulb — for light
  7. mark — to pay attention
  8. mark — a grade
  9. wind — moving air
  10. kid — to tease
  11. branch — of a tree
  12. bulb — of a plant
  13. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  14. key — in music
  15. key — the most important part
  16. branch — a division
  17. bulb — for light
  18. hand — in cards
  19. hand — help
  20. hand — part of the body
  21. fork — to eat with
  22. key — for a lock
  23. fork — in a road
  24. wind — to turn a key

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