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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 120 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. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  3. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  4. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  5. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  6. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  7. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  8. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  9. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  10. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  11. The water is too ________________.
  12. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  13. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  14. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  15. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  16. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  17. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  18. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  19. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  20. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  21. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  22. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  23. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  24. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.

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

Answer key

  1. staff — employees
  2. branch — of a tree
  3. craft — a handicraft
  4. club — for dancing
  5. club — a group
  6. hand — help
  7. staff — employees
  8. hand — in cards
  9. branch — a division
  10. root — of a plant
  11. cold — not warm
  12. cold — the Cold War
  13. hand — part of the body
  14. wound — an injury
  15. cold — an illness
  16. club — for golf
  17. staff — a stick
  18. branch — of a bank
  19. root — the cause
  20. root — of a word
  21. wound — an injury
  22. craft — boats
  23. wound — past of 'wind'
  24. craft — a skill

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