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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. How do you ________________ your surname?
  4. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  5. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  6. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  7. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  8. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  9. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  10. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  11. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  12. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  13. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  14. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  15. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  16. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  17. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  18. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  19. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  20. There's no middle ________________.
  21. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  22. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  23. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  24. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.

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. spell — letters
  4. craft — a handicraft
  5. spell — magic
  6. hand — help
  7. lean — to rest against
  8. branch — of a tree
  9. lean — thin
  10. lean — to bend
  11. staff — a stick
  12. hand — part of the body
  13. prune — to trim
  14. hand — in cards
  15. staff — employees
  16. prune — the fruit
  17. spell — a short time
  18. branch — a division
  19. craft — boats
  20. ground — a position
  21. prune — to trim
  22. branch — of a bank
  23. ground — crushed
  24. ground — the earth

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