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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. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  2. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  3. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  4. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  5. The King held a masked ________________.
  6. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  7. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  8. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  9. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  10. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  11. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  12. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  13. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  14. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  15. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  16. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  17. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  18. When are we going to ________________?
  19. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  20. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  21. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  22. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  23. It's one o'clock ________________.
  24. The kitten curled into a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. sharp — with an edge
  2. branch — of a tree
  3. net — for catching
  4. craft — a handicraft
  5. ball — a dance
  6. craft — boats
  7. branch — of a bank
  8. spring — a coil
  9. net — after costs
  10. spring — the season
  11. ball — a great time
  12. bark — to shout
  13. branch — a division
  14. bark — of a tree
  15. land — a country
  16. spring — of water
  17. land — ground
  18. land — to come down
  19. net — in sport
  20. bark — a dog's sound
  21. craft — a skill
  22. sharp — clever
  23. sharp — exactly
  24. ball — a round shape

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