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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: fork · fan · branch · march · hand · date · leaves · bear

  1. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  2. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  3. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  4. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  5. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  6. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  7. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  8. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  9. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  10. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  11. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  12. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  13. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  14. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  15. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  16. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  17. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  18. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  19. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  20. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  21. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  22. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  23. Have you settled on a ________________?
  24. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.

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

Answer key

  1. fan — to cool the air
  2. fork — to eat with
  3. hand — help
  4. fan — a supporter
  5. leaves — to go away
  6. march — music
  7. branch — a division
  8. march — the month
  9. hand — in cards
  10. bear — the animal
  11. march — the month
  12. leaves — lets stay
  13. date — on the calendar
  14. fan — a supporter
  15. branch — of a tree
  16. hand — part of the body
  17. bear — the animal
  18. bear — to put up with
  19. branch — of a bank
  20. fork — in a road
  21. leaves — of a tree
  22. fork — a garden tool
  23. date — on the calendar
  24. date — the fruit

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