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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. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  2. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  3. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  4. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  5. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  6. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  7. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  8. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  9. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  10. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  11. Did you ________________ the button?
  12. False peace will not ________________.
  13. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  14. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  15. It's one o'clock ________________.
  16. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  17. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  18. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  19. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  20. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  21. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  22. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  23. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  24. Have you met the new head ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. coach — pulled by horses
  2. track — a path
  3. craft — a skill
  4. net — for catching
  5. track — a song
  6. craft — boats
  7. track — to keep track
  8. branch — a division
  9. branch — of a bank
  10. press — newspapers
  11. press — to push
  12. last — to go on
  13. last — final
  14. branch — of a tree
  15. sharp — exactly
  16. craft — a handicraft
  17. press — a publisher
  18. last — finally
  19. sharp — clever
  20. sharp — with an edge
  21. coach — a trainer
  22. net — after costs
  23. net — in sport
  24. coach — a trainer

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