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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. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  3. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  4. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  5. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  6. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  7. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  8. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  9. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  10. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  11. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  12. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  13. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  14. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  15. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  16. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  17. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  18. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  19. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  20. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  21. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  22. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  23. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  24. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.

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

Answer key

  1. craft — boats
  2. file — a line of people
  3. chest — a box
  4. file — a tool
  5. craft — a skill
  6. content — videos and posts
  7. content — the amount
  8. present — there
  9. file — a document
  10. present — the time now
  11. craft — a handicraft
  12. chest — of your body
  13. leaves — of a tree
  14. content — happy
  15. branch — of a tree
  16. branch — of a bank
  17. leaves — lets stay
  18. kid — child
  19. leaves — to go away
  20. present — a gift
  21. kid — to tease
  22. branch — a division
  23. chest — of your body
  24. kid — young goat (kid gloves)

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