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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. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  2. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  3. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  4. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  5. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  6. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  7. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  8. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  9. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  10. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  11. We're on a ________________ here.
  12. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  13. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  14. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  15. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  16. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  17. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  18. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  19. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  20. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  21. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  22. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  23. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  24. Biology is a ________________ of science.

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

Answer key

  1. lean — to bend
  2. lean — thin
  3. net — in sport
  4. lean — to rest against
  5. straw — to clutch at straws
  6. net — for catching
  7. net — after costs
  8. pound — to hit hard
  9. craft — a handicraft
  10. craft — boats
  11. roll — on a roll
  12. roll — a cake
  13. capital — money
  14. roll — a list
  15. pound — a weight
  16. branch — of a tree
  17. straw — a straw man
  18. capital — a big letter
  19. craft — a skill
  20. capital — a city
  21. pound — for dogs
  22. straw — dry grass
  23. branch — of a bank
  24. branch — a division

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