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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. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  2. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  3. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  4. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  5. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  6. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  7. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  8. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  9. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  10. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  11. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  12. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  13. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  14. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  15. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  16. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  17. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  18. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  19. The water is too ________________.
  20. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  21. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  22. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  23. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  24. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.

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

Answer key

  1. craft — a handicraft
  2. stem — of a plant
  3. stem — to come from
  4. branch — a division
  5. craft — a skill
  6. clip — to cut
  7. row — a quarrel
  8. branch — of a tree
  9. cold — the Cold War
  10. row — to paddle
  11. tear — from crying
  12. bowl — a football final
  13. branch — of a bank
  14. tear — from crying
  15. craft — boats
  16. tear — to rip
  17. bowl — a dish
  18. bowl — to roll
  19. cold — not warm
  20. stem — a stem cell
  21. row — a line
  22. clip — for paper
  23. clip — a video
  24. cold — an illness

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