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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. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  2. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  3. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  4. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  5. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  6. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  7. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  8. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  9. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  10. He was locked up in a ________________.
  11. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  12. The ________________ market has crashed.
  13. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  14. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  15. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  16. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  17. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  18. The light ________________ burned out.
  19. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  20. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  21. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  22. I've got to change the light ________________.
  23. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  24. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?

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

Answer key

  1. file — a tool
  2. chair — a professorship
  3. craft — a skill
  4. branch — a division
  5. stock — a soup base
  6. file — a document
  7. cell — a phone
  8. rock — to move gently
  9. chair — to sit on
  10. cell — in a prison
  11. rock — a stone
  12. stock — shares
  13. branch — of a bank
  14. craft — boats
  15. bulb — of a plant
  16. craft — a handicraft
  17. branch — of a tree
  18. bulb — for light
  19. cell — in biology
  20. stock — goods
  21. file — a line of people
  22. bulb — for light
  23. chair — a leader
  24. rock — music

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