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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: cold · ball · spell · branch · firm · staff · fork · fan

  1. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  2. The King held a masked ________________.
  3. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  4. The water is too ________________.
  5. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  6. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  7. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  8. How do you ________________ your surname?
  9. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  10. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  11. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  12. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  13. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  14. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  15. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  16. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  17. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  18. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  19. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  20. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  21. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  22. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  23. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  24. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?

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

Answer key

  1. fork — a garden tool
  2. ball — a dance
  3. staff — a stick
  4. cold — not warm
  5. fan — a supporter
  6. staff — employees
  7. fork — in a road
  8. spell — letters
  9. spell — magic
  10. spell — a short time
  11. ball — a great time
  12. ball — a round shape
  13. staff — employees
  14. firm — steady
  15. firm — a company
  16. fork — to eat with
  17. fan — to cool the air
  18. branch — of a tree
  19. branch — of a bank
  20. cold — the Cold War
  21. branch — a division
  22. firm — decided
  23. cold — an illness
  24. fan — a supporter

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