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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. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  2. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  3. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  4. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  5. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  6. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  7. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  8. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  9. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  10. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  11. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  12. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  13. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  14. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  15. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  16. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  17. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  18. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  19. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  20. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  21. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  22. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  23. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  24. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. fork — to eat with
  2. kid — to tease
  3. wind — moving air
  4. craft — boats
  5. craft — a handicraft
  6. mouse — the animal
  7. staff — employees
  8. kid — child
  9. wind — moving air
  10. mouse — for a computer
  11. craft — a skill
  12. wind — to turn a key
  13. fork — in a road
  14. object — to protest
  15. mouse — the animal
  16. branch — a division
  17. fork — a garden tool
  18. branch — of a bank
  19. staff — employees
  20. branch — of a tree
  21. staff — a stick
  22. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  23. object — a thing
  24. object — an aim

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