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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. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  2. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  3. My father caught me by the ________________.
  4. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  5. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  6. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  7. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  8. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  9. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  10. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  11. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  12. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  13. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  14. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  15. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  16. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  17. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  18. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  19. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  20. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  21. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  22. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  23. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  24. The flowers bloom in the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. craft — boats
  2. file — a document
  3. arm — part of the body
  4. bark — to shout
  5. bear — the animal
  6. lean — to bend
  7. file — a tool
  8. bear — to put up with
  9. bark — of a tree
  10. file — a line of people
  11. lean — to rest against
  12. craft — a handicraft
  13. arm — part of the body
  14. craft — a skill
  15. lean — thin
  16. branch — a division
  17. branch — of a tree
  18. bark — a dog's sound
  19. spring — of water
  20. arm — a part of something
  21. branch — of a bank
  22. bear — the animal
  23. spring — a coil
  24. spring — the season

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