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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. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  2. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  3. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  4. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  5. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  6. Did you ________________ the meat?
  7. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  8. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  9. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  10. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  11. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  12. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  13. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  14. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  15. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  16. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  17. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  18. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  19. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  20. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  21. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  22. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  23. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  24. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?

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

Answer key

  1. clip — for paper
  2. spring — of water
  3. object — a thing
  4. craft — boats
  5. staff — employees
  6. season — to add flavour
  7. branch — a division
  8. wind — moving air
  9. staff — a stick
  10. clip — to cut
  11. spring — a coil
  12. craft — a handicraft
  13. staff — employees
  14. spring — the season
  15. wind — moving air
  16. branch — of a tree
  17. craft — a skill
  18. season — in sport
  19. season — of the year
  20. wind — to turn a key
  21. branch — of a bank
  22. clip — a video
  23. object — an aim
  24. object — to protest

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

Make a worksheet (0 words)

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