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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. My mare is ________________ in color.
  3. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  4. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  5. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  6. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  7. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  8. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  9. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  10. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  11. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  12. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  13. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  14. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  15. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  16. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  17. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  18. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  19. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  20. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  21. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  22. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  23. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  24. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. craft — a skill
  2. bay — a horse colour
  3. leaves — lets stay
  4. craft — a handicraft
  5. file — a document
  6. lean — to bend
  7. branch — of a tree
  8. chest — of your body
  9. file — a tool
  10. craft — boats
  11. file — a line of people
  12. straw — to clutch at straws
  13. chest — a box
  14. lean — to rest against
  15. lean — thin
  16. straw — dry grass
  17. leaves — to go away
  18. straw — a straw man
  19. bay — to keep at bay
  20. chest — of your body
  21. leaves — of a tree
  22. branch — a division
  23. branch — of a bank
  24. bay — a part of the sea

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