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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. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  2. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  3. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  4. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  5. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  6. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  7. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  8. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  9. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  10. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  11. She's very handy with a ________________.
  12. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  13. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  14. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  15. He works in a ________________ mill.
  16. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  17. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  18. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  19. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  20. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  21. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  22. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  23. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  24. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.

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

Answer key

  1. deal — an agreement
  2. craft — a skill
  3. march — the month
  4. branch — of a bank
  5. deal — a big deal
  6. net — after costs
  7. deal — to handle
  8. degree — temperature
  9. wax — in the ear
  10. wax — to grow
  11. saw — the tool
  12. saw — past of 'see'
  13. craft — a handicraft
  14. wax — for sculpting
  15. saw — the tool
  16. degree — from a university
  17. march — music
  18. branch — a division
  19. net — in sport
  20. net — for catching
  21. march — the month
  22. degree — an amount
  23. craft — boats
  24. branch — of a tree

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