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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. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  2. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  3. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  4. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  5. How do you ________________ your surname?
  6. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  7. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  8. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  9. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  10. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  11. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  12. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  13. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  14. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  15. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  16. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  17. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  18. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  19. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  20. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  21. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  22. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  23. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  24. We have nothing to ________________ here.

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

Answer key

  1. craft — boats
  2. snap — to snap out of it
  3. hide — to keep secret
  4. craft — a skill
  5. spell — letters
  6. tear — to rip
  7. branch — of a bank
  8. spell — magic
  9. fall — to drop
  10. branch — of a tree
  11. perch — for a bird
  12. spell — a short time
  13. branch — a division
  14. snap — to click
  15. fall — to drop
  16. snap — to speak sharply
  17. perch — for a bird
  18. fall — the season
  19. hide — animal skin
  20. tear — from crying
  21. tear — from crying
  22. perch — the fish
  23. craft — a handicraft
  24. hide — to keep secret

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