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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. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  2. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  3. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  4. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  5. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  6. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  7. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  8. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  9. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  10. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  11. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  12. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  13. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  14. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  15. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  16. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  17. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  18. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  19. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  20. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  21. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  22. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  23. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  24. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. jam — a tight spot
  2. straw — dry grass
  3. branch — of a tree
  4. row — a line
  5. branch — of a bank
  6. object — an aim
  7. prune — to trim
  8. craft — a skill
  9. prune — the fruit
  10. object — a thing
  11. mine — belonging to me
  12. prune — to trim
  13. straw — to clutch at straws
  14. straw — a straw man
  15. mine — for digging
  16. craft — a handicraft
  17. branch — a division
  18. craft — boats
  19. row — to paddle
  20. object — to protest
  21. mine — an explosive
  22. jam — to spread on bread
  23. row — a quarrel
  24. jam — in traffic

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

Make a worksheet (0 words)

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