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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 116 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 chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  2. The ________________ took off on time.
  3. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  4. David sat on the ________________.
  5. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  6. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  7. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  8. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  9. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  10. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  11. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  12. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  13. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  14. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  15. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  16. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  17. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  18. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  19. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  20. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  21. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  22. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  23. How do you ________________ your surname?
  24. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. branch — of a tree
  2. plane — an aircraft
  3. band — a ring
  4. swing — to play on
  5. band — a music group
  6. band — a rubber band
  7. branch — of a bank
  8. craft — a skill
  9. capital — a big letter
  10. swing — music
  11. branch — a division
  12. straw — to clutch at straws
  13. straw — a straw man
  14. craft — boats
  15. plane — in geometry
  16. straw — dry grass
  17. swing — in golf
  18. capital — a city
  19. spell — magic
  20. craft — a handicraft
  21. plane — a tool
  22. spell — a short time
  23. spell — letters
  24. capital — money

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