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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. Did you ________________ the meat?
  2. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  3. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  4. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  5. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  6. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  7. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  8. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  9. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  10. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  11. Did you ________________ the button?
  12. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  13. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  14. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  15. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  16. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  17. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  18. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  19. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  20. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  21. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  22. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  23. There's no middle ________________.
  24. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.

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

Answer key

  1. season — to add flavour
  2. craft — a skill
  3. lie — an untruth
  4. track — a song
  5. craft — a handicraft
  6. season — in sport
  7. track — a path
  8. branch — a division
  9. craft — boats
  10. band — a ring
  11. press — to push
  12. band — a rubber band
  13. lie — an untruth
  14. track — to keep track
  15. branch — of a bank
  16. season — of the year
  17. ground — crushed
  18. branch — of a tree
  19. press — a publisher
  20. band — a music group
  21. ground — the earth
  22. press — newspapers
  23. ground — a position
  24. lie — to recline

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