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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. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  3. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  4. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  5. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  6. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  7. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  8. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  9. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  10. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  11. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  12. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  13. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  14. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  15. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  16. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  17. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  18. The water is too ________________.
  19. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  20. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  21. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  22. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  23. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  24. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.

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

Answer key

  1. craft — boats
  2. trunk — of a tree
  3. branch — a division
  4. hide — to keep secret
  5. hide — animal skin
  6. squash — the sport
  7. racket — for tennis
  8. trunk — of an elephant
  9. net — after costs
  10. racket — a loud noise
  11. trunk — of a car
  12. racket — for tennis
  13. craft — a handicraft
  14. cold — an illness
  15. squash — to crush
  16. branch — of a tree
  17. craft — a skill
  18. cold — not warm
  19. squash — the vegetable
  20. net — in sport
  21. cold — the Cold War
  22. net — for catching
  23. hide — to keep secret
  24. branch — of a bank

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