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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. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  2. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  3. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  4. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  5. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  6. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  7. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  8. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  9. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  10. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  11. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  12. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  13. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  14. That must've been a ________________.
  15. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  16. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  17. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  18. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  19. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  20. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  21. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  22. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  23. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  24. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.

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

Answer key

  1. craft — boats
  2. rush — to hurry
  3. bowl — to roll
  4. branch — of a bank
  5. kid — to tease
  6. march — music
  7. rush — hurry
  8. spring — a coil
  9. craft — a handicraft
  10. march — the month
  11. spring — the season
  12. branch — of a tree
  13. current — happening now
  14. rush — a thrill
  15. craft — a skill
  16. current — of water
  17. kid — child
  18. bowl — a football final
  19. bowl — a dish
  20. branch — a division
  21. current — electric
  22. spring — of water
  23. march — the month
  24. kid — young goat (kid gloves)

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