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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. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  2. We're almost out of ________________.
  3. You don't need to ________________ round.
  4. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  5. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  6. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  7. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  8. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  9. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  10. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  11. It's one o'clock ________________.
  12. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  13. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  14. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  15. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  16. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  17. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  18. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  19. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  20. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  21. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  22. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  23. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  24. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.

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

Answer key

  1. sharp — clever
  2. pop — soda
  3. pop — to visit
  4. pop — music
  5. branch — of a bank
  6. kid — child
  7. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  8. fall — to drop
  9. craft — boats
  10. present — a gift
  11. sharp — exactly
  12. kid — to tease
  13. sharp — with an edge
  14. craft — a handicraft
  15. craft — a skill
  16. trunk — of a car
  17. branch — a division
  18. branch — of a tree
  19. fall — the season
  20. fall — to drop
  21. present — the time now
  22. trunk — of a tree
  23. trunk — of an elephant
  24. present — there

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