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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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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: game · fork · race · field · kick · mouse · arm · branch

  1. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  2. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  3. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  4. My father caught me by the ________________.
  5. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  6. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  7. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  8. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  9. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  10. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  11. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  12. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  13. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  14. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  15. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  16. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  17. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  18. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  19. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  20. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  21. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  22. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  23. That was a fun ________________.
  24. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.

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

Answer key

  1. mouse — the animal
  2. fork — to eat with
  3. race — humankind
  4. arm — part of the body
  5. field — farmland
  6. kick — a thrill
  7. kick — in football
  8. fork — in a road
  9. field — a subject
  10. game — wild animals
  11. branch — a division
  12. fork — a garden tool
  13. arm — part of the body
  14. race — a contest
  15. kick — with a leg
  16. mouse — for a computer
  17. mouse — the animal
  18. field — for sport
  19. arm — a part of something
  20. branch — of a tree
  21. race — the arms race
  22. game — a kind of play
  23. game — a match
  24. branch — of a bank

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