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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 124 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. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  3. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  4. The water is too ________________.
  5. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  6. You don't need to ________________ round.
  7. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  8. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  9. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  10. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  11. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  12. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  13. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  14. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  15. We're almost out of ________________.
  16. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  17. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  18. There's no middle ________________.
  19. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  20. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  21. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  22. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  23. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  24. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.

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

Answer key

  1. craft — a skill
  2. branch — of a tree
  3. ground — crushed
  4. cold — not warm
  5. cold — an illness
  6. pop — to visit
  7. craft — a handicraft
  8. row — a quarrel
  9. craft — boats
  10. ground — the earth
  11. pit — in a race
  12. row — a line
  13. row — to paddle
  14. branch — of a bank
  15. pop — soda
  16. foot — part of the body
  17. pit — a hole
  18. ground — a position
  19. pit — a fruit stone
  20. branch — a division
  21. foot — a measure
  22. pop — music
  23. cold — the Cold War
  24. foot — the bottom

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