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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. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  3. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  4. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  5. He was locked up in a ________________.
  6. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  7. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  8. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  9. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  10. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  11. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  12. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  13. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  14. The water is too ________________.
  15. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  16. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  17. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  18. My father caught me by the ________________.
  19. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  20. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  21. Have you settled on a ________________?
  22. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  23. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  24. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.

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

Answer key

  1. craft — a skill
  2. craft — a handicraft
  3. pound — to hit hard
  4. craft — boats
  5. cell — in a prison
  6. cell — a phone
  7. pound — for dogs
  8. branch — of a bank
  9. cold — an illness
  10. date — on the calendar
  11. cell — in biology
  12. face — part of the head
  13. pound — a weight
  14. cold — not warm
  15. arm — a part of something
  16. face — to point toward
  17. cold — the Cold War
  18. arm — part of the body
  19. face — to confront
  20. date — the fruit
  21. date — on the calendar
  22. branch — a division
  23. branch — of a tree
  24. arm — part of the body

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