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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. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  2. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  3. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  4. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  5. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  6. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  7. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  8. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  9. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  10. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  11. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  12. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  13. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  14. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  15. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  16. The ________________ took off on time.
  17. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  18. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  19. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  20. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  21. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  22. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  23. The water is too ________________.
  24. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.

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

Answer key

  1. staff — employees
  2. craft — a skill
  3. craft — a handicraft
  4. bank — for money
  5. cold — an illness
  6. wound — past of 'wind'
  7. capital — money
  8. tear — from crying
  9. plane — a tool
  10. plane — in geometry
  11. tear — to rip
  12. staff — employees
  13. cold — the Cold War
  14. staff — a stick
  15. wound — an injury
  16. plane — an aircraft
  17. tear — from crying
  18. bank — of a river
  19. wound — an injury
  20. craft — boats
  21. capital — a big letter
  22. capital — a city
  23. cold — not warm
  24. bank — for money

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