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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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468
Word bank
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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. Did you ________________ the meat?
  2. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  3. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  4. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  5. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  6. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  7. Don't do anything ________________.
  8. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  9. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  10. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  11. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  12. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  13. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  14. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  15. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  16. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  17. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  18. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  19. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  20. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  21. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  22. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  23. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  24. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. season — to add flavour
  2. racket — for tennis
  3. rash — on the skin
  4. craft — boats
  5. season — of the year
  6. bass — the instrument
  7. rash — hasty
  8. rash — a series
  9. stem — to come from
  10. row — a quarrel
  11. branch — of a bank
  12. craft — a handicraft
  13. branch — of a tree
  14. stem — of a plant
  15. stem — a stem cell
  16. branch — a division
  17. row — a line
  18. craft — a skill
  19. season — in sport
  20. row — to paddle
  21. bass — low music
  22. racket — for tennis
  23. racket — a loud noise
  24. bass — the fish

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