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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. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  2. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  3. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  4. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  5. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  6. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  7. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  8. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  9. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  10. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  11. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  12. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  13. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  14. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  15. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  16. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  17. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  18. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  19. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  20. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  21. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  22. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  23. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  24. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?

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

Answer key

  1. craft — a handicraft
  2. branch — a division
  3. net — after costs
  4. branch — of a tree
  5. clip — for paper
  6. net — for catching
  7. march — music
  8. dip — to sink
  9. hide — animal skin
  10. craft — a skill
  11. net — in sport
  12. march — the month
  13. clip — a video
  14. dip — to dunk
  15. bark — of a tree
  16. hide — to keep secret
  17. craft — boats
  18. dip — a sauce
  19. bark — to shout
  20. march — the month
  21. bark — a dog's sound
  22. clip — to cut
  23. branch — of a bank
  24. hide — to keep secret

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