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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. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  2. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  3. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  4. The water is too ________________.
  5. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  6. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  7. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  8. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  9. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  10. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  11. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  12. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  13. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  14. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  15. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  16. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  17. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  18. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  19. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  20. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  21. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  22. She's very handy with a ________________.
  23. He works in a ________________ mill.
  24. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.

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

Answer key

  1. craft — boats
  2. branch — a division
  3. craft — a handicraft
  4. cold — not warm
  5. can — a tin
  6. fine — all right
  7. saw — past of 'see'
  8. object — an aim
  9. branch — of a bank
  10. fine — high quality
  11. cold — an illness
  12. object — a thing
  13. cold — the Cold War
  14. craft — a skill
  15. fine — a penalty
  16. straw — dry grass
  17. can — to be able to
  18. straw — to clutch at straws
  19. straw — a straw man
  20. object — to protest
  21. can — a tin
  22. saw — the tool
  23. saw — the tool
  24. branch — of a tree

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