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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. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  2. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  3. The ball is in your ________________.
  4. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  5. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  6. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  7. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  8. The ________________ took off on time.
  9. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  10. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  11. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  12. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  13. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  14. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  15. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  16. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  17. False peace will not ________________.
  18. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  19. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  20. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  21. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  22. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  23. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  24. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.

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

Answer key

  1. craft — a skill
  2. kid — to tease
  3. court — for sport
  4. branch — a division
  5. bark — of a tree
  6. bark — a dog's sound
  7. craft — boats
  8. plane — an aircraft
  9. craft — a handicraft
  10. plane — a tool
  11. court — of a king
  12. bark — to shout
  13. ruler — a monarch
  14. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  15. last — finally
  16. kid — child
  17. last — to go on
  18. plane — in geometry
  19. branch — of a tree
  20. last — final
  21. court — of law
  22. ruler — for measuring
  23. ruler — for measuring
  24. branch — of a bank

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