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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: kick · chair · branch · straw · race · deal · fork · tear

  1. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  2. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  3. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  4. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  5. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  6. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  7. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  8. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  9. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  10. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  11. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  12. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  13. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  14. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  15. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  16. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  17. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  18. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  19. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  20. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  21. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  22. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  23. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  24. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.

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

Answer key

  1. fork — a garden tool
  2. kick — a thrill
  3. chair — a leader
  4. kick — in football
  5. branch — a division
  6. straw — to clutch at straws
  7. tear — from crying
  8. tear — from crying
  9. race — the arms race
  10. chair — a professorship
  11. fork — in a road
  12. straw — dry grass
  13. fork — to eat with
  14. kick — with a leg
  15. tear — to rip
  16. deal — an agreement
  17. race — a contest
  18. race — humankind
  19. branch — of a tree
  20. deal — to handle
  21. straw — a straw man
  22. branch — of a bank
  23. chair — to sit on
  24. deal — a big deal

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