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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 in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  2. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  3. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  4. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  5. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  6. What do you think of the new ________________?
  7. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  8. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  9. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  10. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  11. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  12. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  13. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  14. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  15. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  16. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  17. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  18. The ________________ went through the wall.

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

Answer key

  1. craft — boats
  2. nail — for a hammer
  3. field — for sport
  4. field — a subject
  5. clip — to cut
  6. cabinet — ministers
  7. craft — a handicraft
  8. branch — of a bank
  9. branch — of a tree
  10. cabinet — a cupboard
  11. nail — on a finger
  12. field — farmland
  13. clip — for paper
  14. cabinet — ministers
  15. clip — a video
  16. branch — a division
  17. craft — a skill
  18. nail — for a hammer

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