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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. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  2. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  3. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  4. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  5. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  6. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  7. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  8. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  9. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  10. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  11. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  12. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  13. David sat on the ________________.
  14. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  15. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  16. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  17. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  18. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  19. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  20. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  21. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  22. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  23. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  24. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.

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

Answer key

  1. craft — boats
  2. fall — the season
  3. present — a gift
  4. swing — music
  5. capital — money
  6. branch — of a bank
  7. swing — in golf
  8. capital — a city
  9. craft — a skill
  10. bark — a dog's sound
  11. bark — to shout
  12. row — a line
  13. swing — to play on
  14. present — there
  15. bark — of a tree
  16. fall — to drop
  17. craft — a handicraft
  18. capital — a big letter
  19. branch — a division
  20. row — a quarrel
  21. branch — of a tree
  22. fall — to drop
  23. present — the time now
  24. row — to paddle

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