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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: lash · branch · field · ground · wake · clip · fork · rock

  1. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  2. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  3. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  4. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  5. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  6. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  7. There's no middle ________________.
  8. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  9. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  10. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  11. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  12. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  13. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  14. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  15. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  16. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  17. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  18. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  19. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  20. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  21. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  22. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  23. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  24. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. wake — before a funeral
  2. fork — a garden tool
  3. fork — in a road
  4. branch — of a tree
  5. lash — a whip stroke
  6. rock — music
  7. ground — a position
  8. branch — a division
  9. clip — for paper
  10. ground — crushed
  11. field — for sport
  12. clip — to cut
  13. ground — the earth
  14. fork — to eat with
  15. clip — a video
  16. lash — to lash out
  17. lash — an eyelash
  18. branch — of a bank
  19. field — a subject
  20. rock — to move gently
  21. rock — a stone
  22. wake — to stop sleeping
  23. wake — a trail
  24. field — farmland

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