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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. That was ________________ to happen.
  2. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  3. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  4. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  5. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  6. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  7. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  8. The water is too ________________.
  9. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  10. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  11. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  12. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  13. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  14. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  15. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  16. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  17. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  18. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  19. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  20. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  21. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  22. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  23. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  24. A black ________________ roamed the forest.

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

Answer key

  1. bound — certain
  2. branch — of a tree
  3. club — for golf
  4. craft — boats
  5. staff — employees
  6. cold — an illness
  7. craft — a handicraft
  8. cold — not warm
  9. club — a group
  10. bark — to shout
  11. bark — a dog's sound
  12. bear — the animal
  13. bark — of a tree
  14. branch — of a bank
  15. cold — the Cold War
  16. craft — a skill
  17. staff — employees
  18. bound — obliged
  19. club — for dancing
  20. branch — a division
  21. bear — to put up with
  22. bound — tied together
  23. staff — a stick
  24. bear — the animal

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