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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. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  2. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  3. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  4. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  5. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  6. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  7. How do you ________________ your surname?
  8. She's very handy with a ________________.
  9. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  10. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  11. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  12. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  13. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  14. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  15. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  16. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  17. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  18. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  19. He works in a ________________ mill.
  20. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  21. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  22. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  23. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  24. She had a strange look on her ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. craft — a skill
  2. fork — in a road
  3. tear — from crying
  4. craft — boats
  5. tear — from crying
  6. face — to point toward
  7. spell — letters
  8. saw — the tool
  9. current — of water
  10. fork — a garden tool
  11. tear — to rip
  12. spell — a short time
  13. saw — past of 'see'
  14. craft — a handicraft
  15. current — electric
  16. branch — of a tree
  17. face — to confront
  18. fork — to eat with
  19. saw — the tool
  20. spell — magic
  21. branch — of a bank
  22. branch — a division
  23. current — happening now
  24. face — part of the head

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