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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. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  3. Have you found your soul ________________?
  4. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  5. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  6. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  7. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  8. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  9. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  10. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  11. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  12. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  13. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  14. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  15. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  16. She's very handy with a ________________.
  17. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  18. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  19. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  20. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  21. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  22. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  23. He works in a ________________ mill.
  24. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. craft — boats
  2. toast — a drink to someone
  3. mate — a partner
  4. foot — the bottom
  5. craft — a handicraft
  6. toast — the most admired
  7. craft — a skill
  8. saw — past of 'see'
  9. mate — a friend
  10. content — happy
  11. branch — of a bank
  12. toast — bread
  13. mate — to breed
  14. scale — size or range
  15. branch — a division
  16. saw — the tool
  17. foot — a measure
  18. foot — part of the body
  19. branch — of a tree
  20. scale — for weighing
  21. content — the amount
  22. scale — in music
  23. saw — the tool
  24. content — videos and posts

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