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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. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  2. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  3. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  4. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  5. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  6. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  7. Did you ________________ the button?
  8. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  9. The water is too ________________.
  10. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  11. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  12. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  13. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  14. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  15. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  16. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  17. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  18. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  19. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  20. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  21. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  22. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  23. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  24. He was locked up in a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. craft — a skill
  2. bear — to put up with
  3. cell — in biology
  4. cold — an illness
  5. lie — an untruth
  6. craft — boats
  7. press — to push
  8. cold — the Cold War
  9. cold — not warm
  10. craft — a handicraft
  11. bear — the animal
  12. track — a path
  13. track — to keep track
  14. cell — a phone
  15. lie — to recline
  16. lie — an untruth
  17. bear — the animal
  18. track — a song
  19. press — newspapers
  20. branch — of a bank
  21. branch — a division
  22. branch — of a tree
  23. press — a publisher
  24. cell — in a prison

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