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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. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  2. The water is too ________________.
  3. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  4. Where did you ________________ them?
  5. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  6. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  7. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  8. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  9. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  10. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  11. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  12. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  13. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  14. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  15. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  16. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  17. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  18. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  19. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  20. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  21. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  22. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  23. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  24. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.

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

Answer key

  1. scale — in music
  2. cold — not warm
  3. branch — a division
  4. mug — to rob
  5. cold — an illness
  6. craft — boats
  7. mug — a face
  8. scale — for weighing
  9. wound — past of 'wind'
  10. wound — an injury
  11. mug — a cup
  12. clip — for paper
  13. clip — to cut
  14. wound — an injury
  15. clip — a video
  16. craft — a skill
  17. vault — a safe
  18. vault — in gymnastics
  19. scale — size or range
  20. craft — a handicraft
  21. vault — an arched ceiling
  22. cold — the Cold War
  23. branch — of a bank
  24. branch — of a tree

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