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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. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  3. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  4. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  5. There's no middle ________________.
  6. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  7. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  8. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  9. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  10. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  11. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  12. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  13. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  14. The ________________ took off on time.
  15. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  16. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  17. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  18. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  19. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  20. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  21. Where did you ________________ them?
  22. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  23. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  24. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.

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

Answer key

  1. craft — a skill
  2. ground — crushed
  3. plane — a tool
  4. branch — of a bank
  5. ground — a position
  6. mug — a face
  7. kid — to tease
  8. branch — a division
  9. prune — the fruit
  10. branch — of a tree
  11. prune — to trim
  12. wind — moving air
  13. wind — moving air
  14. plane — an aircraft
  15. plane — in geometry
  16. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  17. prune — to trim
  18. kid — child
  19. ground — the earth
  20. craft — a handicraft
  21. mug — to rob
  22. mug — a cup
  23. wind — to turn a key
  24. craft — boats

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