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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. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  2. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  3. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  4. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  5. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  6. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  7. It's one o'clock ________________.
  8. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  9. The water is too ________________.
  10. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  11. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  12. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  13. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  14. The ball is in your ________________.
  15. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  16. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  17. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  18. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  19. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  20. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  21. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  22. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  23. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  24. He's quite ________________, isn't he?

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

Answer key

  1. craft — a handicraft
  2. track — to keep track
  3. craft — a skill
  4. shower — a meteor shower
  5. track — a song
  6. cold — the Cold War
  7. sharp — exactly
  8. fork — in a road
  9. cold — not warm
  10. court — of a king
  11. sharp — with an edge
  12. track — a path
  13. cold — an illness
  14. court — for sport
  15. shower — to wash
  16. court — of law
  17. craft — boats
  18. branch — of a bank
  19. shower — rain
  20. fork — a garden tool
  21. fork — to eat with
  22. branch — a division
  23. branch — of a tree
  24. sharp — clever

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