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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. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  2. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  3. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  4. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  5. How do you ________________ your surname?
  6. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  7. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  8. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  9. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  10. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  11. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  12. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  13. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  14. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  15. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  16. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  17. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  18. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  19. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  20. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  21. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  22. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  23. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  24. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.

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

Answer key

  1. craft — a skill
  2. bat — the animal
  3. spell — magic
  4. branch — of a bank
  5. spell — letters
  6. craft — a handicraft
  7. file — a document
  8. rule — to rule out
  9. leaves — lets stay
  10. mark — to pay attention
  11. branch — a division
  12. mark — a trace
  13. branch — of a tree
  14. bat — for baseball
  15. leaves — of a tree
  16. spell — a short time
  17. leaves — to go away
  18. bat — in an idiom
  19. rule — government
  20. file — a tool
  21. file — a line of people
  22. rule — a law
  23. mark — a grade
  24. craft — boats

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