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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. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  2. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  3. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  4. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  5. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  6. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  7. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  8. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  9. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  10. That must've been a ________________.
  11. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  12. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  13. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  14. There's no middle ________________.
  15. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  16. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  17. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  18. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  19. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  20. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  21. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  22. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  23. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  24. I don't want to ________________ the boat.

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

Answer key

  1. rock — music
  2. branch — of a bank
  3. chair — a leader
  4. bark — of a tree
  5. branch — of a tree
  6. craft — a skill
  7. ground — crushed
  8. rush — to hurry
  9. bat — in an idiom
  10. rush — a thrill
  11. branch — a division
  12. craft — boats
  13. ground — the earth
  14. ground — a position
  15. bark — a dog's sound
  16. rush — hurry
  17. bat — the animal
  18. craft — a handicraft
  19. chair — a professorship
  20. rock — a stone
  21. bark — to shout
  22. bat — for baseball
  23. chair — to sit on
  24. rock — to move gently

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