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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. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  2. The ball is in your ________________.
  3. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  4. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  5. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  6. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  7. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  8. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  9. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  10. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  11. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  12. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  13. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  14. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  15. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  16. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  17. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  18. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  19. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  20. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  21. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  22. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  23. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  24. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. branch — of a bank
  2. court — for sport
  3. scale — in music
  4. craft — a skill
  5. craft — a handicraft
  6. stick — to attach or keep to
  7. stick — a piece of wood
  8. court — of law
  9. content — the amount
  10. craft — boats
  11. wind — moving air
  12. branch — a division
  13. stick — a piece of wood
  14. wind — to turn a key
  15. content — videos and posts
  16. content — happy
  17. scale — for weighing
  18. branch — of a tree
  19. wind — moving air
  20. scale — size or range
  21. straw — a straw man
  22. court — of a king
  23. straw — dry grass
  24. straw — to clutch at straws

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