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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. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  2. He was locked up in a ________________.
  3. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  4. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  5. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  6. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  7. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  8. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  9. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  10. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  11. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  12. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  13. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  14. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  15. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  16. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  17. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  18. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  19. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  20. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  21. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  22. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  23. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  24. Biology is a ________________ of science.

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

Answer key

  1. craft — boats
  2. cell — in a prison
  3. fan — to cool the air
  4. branch — of a bank
  5. lash — an eyelash
  6. patient — a sick person
  7. fan — a supporter
  8. patient — a sick person
  9. degree — from a university
  10. fan — a supporter
  11. branch — of a tree
  12. lash — to lash out
  13. craft — a handicraft
  14. cell — in biology
  15. cell — a phone
  16. craft — a skill
  17. patient — calm and waiting
  18. degree — an amount
  19. lash — a whip stroke
  20. squash — the vegetable
  21. squash — to crush
  22. degree — temperature
  23. squash — the sport
  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