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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. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  3. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  4. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  5. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  6. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  7. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  8. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  9. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  10. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  11. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  12. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  13. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  14. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  15. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  16. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  17. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  18. David sat on the ________________.
  19. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  20. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  21. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  22. False peace will not ________________.
  23. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  24. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.

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

Answer key

  1. craft — a skill
  2. last — finally
  3. net — after costs
  4. craft — boats
  5. swing — music
  6. pass — to succeed
  7. net — in sport
  8. pass — a permit
  9. wind — moving air
  10. mouse — the animal
  11. branch — of a bank
  12. craft — a handicraft
  13. wind — moving air
  14. last — final
  15. net — for catching
  16. branch — a division
  17. branch — of a tree
  18. swing — to play on
  19. wind — to turn a key
  20. mouse — for a computer
  21. pass — to spend time
  22. last — to go on
  23. mouse — the animal
  24. swing — in golf

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