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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. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  2. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  3. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  4. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  5. He was locked up in a ________________.
  6. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  7. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  8. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  9. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  10. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  11. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  12. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  13. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  14. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  15. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  16. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  17. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  18. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  19. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  20. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  21. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  22. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  23. That must've been a ________________.
  24. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. rush — to hurry
  2. craft — boats
  3. bat — in an idiom
  4. scale — for weighing
  5. cell — in a prison
  6. bat — the animal
  7. branch — of a tree
  8. cell — in biology
  9. rush — hurry
  10. branch — of a bank
  11. craft — a handicraft
  12. pit — in a race
  13. scale — in music
  14. hide — animal skin
  15. pit — a fruit stone
  16. craft — a skill
  17. hide — to keep secret
  18. cell — a phone
  19. hide — to keep secret
  20. branch — a division
  21. pit — a hole
  22. bat — for baseball
  23. rush — a thrill
  24. scale — size or range

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