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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. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  2. She's very handy with a ________________.
  3. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  4. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  5. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  6. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  7. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  8. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  9. He works in a ________________ mill.
  10. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  11. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  12. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  13. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  14. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  15. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  16. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  17. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  18. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  19. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  20. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  21. The water is too ________________.
  22. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  23. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  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. face — to point toward
  2. saw — the tool
  3. face — part of the head
  4. craft — a handicraft
  5. saw — past of 'see'
  6. bass — low music
  7. current — of water
  8. craft — boats
  9. saw — the tool
  10. bass — the fish
  11. cold — an illness
  12. current — electric
  13. current — happening now
  14. face — to confront
  15. race — humankind
  16. cold — the Cold War
  17. bass — the instrument
  18. race — the arms race
  19. branch — a division
  20. race — a contest
  21. cold — not warm
  22. craft — a skill
  23. branch — of a tree
  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