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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 116 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. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  3. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  4. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  5. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  6. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  7. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  8. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  9. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  10. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  11. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  12. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  13. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  14. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  15. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  16. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  17. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  18. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  19. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  20. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  21. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  22. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  23. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  24. I don't want to ________________ the boat.

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

Answer key

  1. craft — boats
  2. chair — to sit on
  3. rock — music
  4. craft — a skill
  5. branch — of a bank
  6. wake — to stop sleeping
  7. wound — an injury
  8. craft — a handicraft
  9. wound — past of 'wind'
  10. bowl — a dish
  11. rock — a stone
  12. branch — of a tree
  13. chair — a professorship
  14. squash — the vegetable
  15. squash — to crush
  16. bowl — to roll
  17. chair — a leader
  18. squash — the sport
  19. wound — an injury
  20. bowl — a football final
  21. branch — a division
  22. wake — before a funeral
  23. wake — a trail
  24. rock — to move gently

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