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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. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  2. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  3. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  4. I can't ________________ this cold.
  5. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  6. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  7. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  8. We're on a ________________ here.
  9. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  10. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  11. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  12. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  13. The light ________________ burned out.
  14. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  15. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  16. I've got to change the light ________________.
  17. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  18. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  19. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  20. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  21. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  22. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  23. The water is too ________________.
  24. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?

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

Answer key

  1. staff — employees
  2. branch — of a bank
  3. craft — a skill
  4. stand — to bear
  5. bulb — of a plant
  6. stand — on your feet
  7. degree — from a university
  8. roll — on a roll
  9. roll — a cake
  10. roll — a list
  11. branch — a division
  12. cold — an illness
  13. bulb — for light
  14. staff — a stick
  15. degree — temperature
  16. bulb — for light
  17. staff — employees
  18. craft — boats
  19. branch — of a tree
  20. craft — a handicraft
  21. cold — the Cold War
  22. stand — for spectators
  23. cold — not warm
  24. degree — an amount

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