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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. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  2. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  3. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  4. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  5. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  6. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  7. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  8. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  9. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  10. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  11. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  12. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  13. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  14. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  15. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  16. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  17. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  18. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  19. He is an ace ________________.
  20. That must've been a ________________.
  21. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  22. When are we going to ________________?
  23. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  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. pitcher — a jug
  2. clip — to cut
  3. craft — a skill
  4. snap — to snap out of it
  5. branch — of a tree
  6. land — a country
  7. land — ground
  8. clip — a video
  9. snap — to click
  10. snap — to speak sharply
  11. bass — the instrument
  12. craft — boats
  13. bass — the fish
  14. pitcher — a jug
  15. rush — hurry
  16. branch — a division
  17. rush — to hurry
  18. clip — for paper
  19. pitcher — in baseball
  20. rush — a thrill
  21. bass — low music
  22. land — to come down
  23. craft — a handicraft
  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