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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 116 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. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  2. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  3. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  4. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  5. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  6. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  7. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  8. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  9. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  10. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  11. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  12. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  13. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  14. The ball is in your ________________.
  15. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  16. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  17. The ________________ took off on time.
  18. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  19. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  20. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  21. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  22. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  23. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  24. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.

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

Answer key

  1. court — of a king
  2. wound — an injury
  3. craft — a skill
  4. wound — an injury
  5. current — of water
  6. branch — a division
  7. branch — of a tree
  8. court — of law
  9. craft — boats
  10. craft — a handicraft
  11. branch — of a bank
  12. current — electric
  13. mine — for digging
  14. court — for sport
  15. track — a song
  16. plane — a tool
  17. plane — an aircraft
  18. track — to keep track
  19. mine — belonging to me
  20. mine — an explosive
  21. wound — past of 'wind'
  22. plane — in geometry
  23. current — happening now
  24. track — a path

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