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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 116 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. We're almost out of ________________.
  2. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  3. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  4. You don't need to ________________ round.
  5. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  6. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  7. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  8. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  9. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  10. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  11. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  12. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  13. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  14. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  15. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  16. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  17. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  18. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.

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

Answer key

  1. pop — soda
  2. craft — a handicraft
  3. hand — help
  4. pop — to visit
  5. hand — part of the body
  6. face — part of the head
  7. pop — music
  8. craft — a skill
  9. branch — of a tree
  10. face — to confront
  11. spring — the season
  12. branch — a division
  13. spring — of water
  14. hand — in cards
  15. spring — a coil
  16. craft — boats
  17. branch — of a bank
  18. face — to point toward

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