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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. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  2. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  3. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  4. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  5. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  6. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  7. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  8. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  9. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  10. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  11. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  12. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  13. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  14. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  15. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  16. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  17. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  18. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  19. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  20. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  21. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  22. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  23. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  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. staff — employees
  2. rest — what's left
  3. branch — of a tree
  4. clip — for paper
  5. clip — to cut
  6. leaves — of a tree
  7. mine — for digging
  8. branch — a division
  9. row — a line
  10. mine — an explosive
  11. leaves — to go away
  12. staff — a stick
  13. mine — belonging to me
  14. craft — boats
  15. staff — employees
  16. craft — a handicraft
  17. rest — a break
  18. row — to paddle
  19. leaves — lets stay
  20. clip — a video
  21. rest — what's left
  22. row — a quarrel
  23. craft — a skill
  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