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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. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  2. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  3. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  4. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  5. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  6. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  7. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  8. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  9. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  10. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  11. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  12. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  13. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  14. Did you ________________ the button?
  15. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  16. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  17. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  18. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  19. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  20. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  21. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  22. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  23. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  24. Check the label for the sugar ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. branch — of a bank
  2. bark — to shout
  3. craft — a skill
  4. content — happy
  5. wind — to turn a key
  6. press — newspapers
  7. wake — to stop sleeping
  8. branch — of a tree
  9. wind — moving air
  10. wake — before a funeral
  11. craft — a handicraft
  12. patient — calm and waiting
  13. branch — a division
  14. press — to push
  15. wind — moving air
  16. patient — a sick person
  17. patient — a sick person
  18. wake — a trail
  19. craft — boats
  20. bark — of a tree
  21. press — a publisher
  22. content — videos and posts
  23. bark — a dog's sound
  24. content — the amount

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