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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. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  2. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  3. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  4. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  5. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  6. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  7. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  8. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  9. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  10. He is an ace ________________.
  11. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  12. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  13. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  14. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  15. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  16. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  17. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  18. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  19. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  20. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  21. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  22. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  23. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  24. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.

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

Answer key

  1. rest — a break
  2. dip — a sauce
  3. craft — boats
  4. branch — of a tree
  5. pitcher — a jug
  6. rest — what's left
  7. craft — a skill
  8. hand — in cards
  9. hand — help
  10. pitcher — in baseball
  11. branch — of a bank
  12. bat — in an idiom
  13. dip — to dunk
  14. craft — a handicraft
  15. bore — gave birth
  16. bore — to drill
  17. pitcher — a jug
  18. bat — for baseball
  19. dip — to sink
  20. branch — a division
  21. hand — part of the body
  22. bore — to tire
  23. bat — the animal
  24. rest — what's left

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