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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. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  2. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  3. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  4. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  5. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  6. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  7. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  8. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  9. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  10. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  11. False peace will not ________________.
  12. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  13. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  14. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  15. When are we going to ________________?
  16. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  17. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  18. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  19. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  20. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  21. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  22. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  23. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  24. I assure you, everything's ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. last — final
  2. branch — of a tree
  3. craft — boats
  4. craft — a skill
  5. deal — to handle
  6. land — ground
  7. fine — a penalty
  8. present — there
  9. fine — high quality
  10. last — finally
  11. last — to go on
  12. wind — moving air
  13. wind — to turn a key
  14. deal — an agreement
  15. land — to come down
  16. branch — of a bank
  17. craft — a handicraft
  18. present — a gift
  19. wind — moving air
  20. land — a country
  21. deal — a big deal
  22. present — the time now
  23. branch — a division
  24. fine — all right

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