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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. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  3. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  4. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  5. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  6. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  7. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  8. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  9. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  10. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  11. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  12. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  13. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  14. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  15. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  16. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  17. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  18. It's one o'clock ________________.
  19. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  20. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  21. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  22. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  23. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  24. We took cover from the thunder ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. craft — a skill
  2. fall — the season
  3. fall — to drop
  4. craft — boats
  5. branch — of a bank
  6. wake — before a funeral
  7. band — a music group
  8. branch — a division
  9. shower — a meteor shower
  10. branch — of a tree
  11. bark — of a tree
  12. band — a ring
  13. sharp — clever
  14. band — a rubber band
  15. fall — to drop
  16. sharp — with an edge
  17. craft — a handicraft
  18. sharp — exactly
  19. wake — to stop sleeping
  20. bark — to shout
  21. shower — to wash
  22. wake — a trail
  23. bark — a dog's sound
  24. shower — rain

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