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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. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  2. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  3. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  4. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  5. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  6. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  7. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  8. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  9. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  10. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  11. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  12. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  13. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  14. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  15. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  16. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  17. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  18. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  19. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  20. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  21. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  22. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  23. The ball is in your ________________.
  24. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.

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

Answer key

  1. craft — boats
  2. branch — of a tree
  3. wake — to stop sleeping
  4. bowl — to roll
  5. bowl — a football final
  6. tear — from crying
  7. stem — a stem cell
  8. stem — to come from
  9. bowl — a dish
  10. branch — of a bank
  11. craft — a handicraft
  12. tear — to rip
  13. court — of a king
  14. branch — a division
  15. stem — of a plant
  16. tear — from crying
  17. chair — a leader
  18. wake — before a funeral
  19. chair — a professorship
  20. craft — a skill
  21. chair — to sit on
  22. wake — a trail
  23. court — for sport
  24. court — of law

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