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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. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  3. False peace will not ________________.
  4. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  5. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  6. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  7. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  8. Have you met the new head ________________?
  9. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  10. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  11. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  12. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  13. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  14. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  15. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  16. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  17. David sat on the ________________.
  18. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  19. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  20. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  21. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  22. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  23. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  24. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?

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

Answer key

  1. craft — boats
  2. craft — a skill
  3. last — to go on
  4. capital — money
  5. clip — for paper
  6. safe — out of danger
  7. clip — to cut
  8. coach — a trainer
  9. swing — in golf
  10. capital — a city
  11. branch — of a bank
  12. coach — a trainer
  13. branch — of a tree
  14. branch — a division
  15. last — finally
  16. safe — a strongbox
  17. swing — to play on
  18. capital — a big letter
  19. swing — music
  20. safe — out of danger
  21. craft — a handicraft
  22. last — final
  23. clip — a video
  24. coach — pulled by horses

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