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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. Have you settled on a ________________?
  2. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  3. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  4. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  5. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  6. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  7. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  8. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  9. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  10. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  11. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  12. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  13. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  14. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  15. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  16. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  17. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  18. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  19. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  20. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  21. Did you ________________ the meat?
  22. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  23. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  24. She had a strange look on her ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. date — on the calendar
  2. spring — a coil
  3. wake — a trail
  4. date — the fruit
  5. craft — a skill
  6. face — to confront
  7. branch — of a bank
  8. wake — to stop sleeping
  9. spring — the season
  10. wound — past of 'wind'
  11. wound — an injury
  12. season — of the year
  13. branch — of a tree
  14. face — to point toward
  15. wake — before a funeral
  16. craft — boats
  17. date — on the calendar
  18. branch — a division
  19. season — in sport
  20. wound — an injury
  21. season — to add flavour
  22. spring — of water
  23. craft — a handicraft
  24. face — part of the head

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