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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 120 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. Don't do anything ________________.
  2. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  3. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  4. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  5. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  6. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  7. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  8. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  9. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  10. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  11. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  12. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  13. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  14. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  15. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  16. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  17. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  18. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  19. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  20. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  21. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  22. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  23. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  24. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.

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

Answer key

  1. rash — hasty
  2. tear — from crying
  3. craft — a skill
  4. net — after costs
  5. net — for catching
  6. branch — a division
  7. tear — to rip
  8. branch — of a bank
  9. band — a ring
  10. branch — of a tree
  11. rash — on the skin
  12. band — a rubber band
  13. dip — a sauce
  14. craft — a handicraft
  15. net — in sport
  16. rash — a series
  17. dip — to sink
  18. content — videos and posts
  19. content — the amount
  20. craft — boats
  21. tear — from crying
  22. content — happy
  23. band — a music group
  24. dip — to dunk

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