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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 120 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. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  2. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  3. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  4. When are we going to ________________?
  5. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  6. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  7. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  8. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  9. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  10. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  11. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  12. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  13. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  14. The water is too ________________.
  15. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  16. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  17. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  18. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  19. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  20. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  21. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  22. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  23. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  24. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.

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

Answer key

  1. craft — a skill
  2. pass — to succeed
  3. craft — boats
  4. land — to come down
  5. land — a country
  6. perch — for a bird
  7. staff — employees
  8. pass — a permit
  9. staff — a stick
  10. perch — for a bird
  11. perch — the fish
  12. pass — to spend time
  13. branch — of a tree
  14. cold — not warm
  15. branch — of a bank
  16. stem — a stem cell
  17. craft — a handicraft
  18. stem — of a plant
  19. cold — an illness
  20. stem — to come from
  21. branch — a division
  22. land — ground
  23. staff — employees
  24. cold — the Cold War

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