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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 120 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. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  2. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  3. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  4. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  5. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  6. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  7. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  8. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  9. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  10. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  11. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  12. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  13. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  14. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  15. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  16. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  17. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  18. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  19. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  20. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  21. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  22. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  23. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  24. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.

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

Answer key

  1. rule — a law
  2. chest — a box
  3. craft — a handicraft
  4. branch — a division
  5. rule — government
  6. rule — to rule out
  7. kick — with a leg
  8. patient — a sick person
  9. file — a tool
  10. patient — calm and waiting
  11. patient — a sick person
  12. chest — of your body
  13. kick — a thrill
  14. straw — a straw man
  15. straw — to clutch at straws
  16. craft — boats
  17. branch — of a bank
  18. straw — dry grass
  19. branch — of a tree
  20. chest — of your body
  21. kick — in football
  22. file — a line of people
  23. file — a document
  24. craft — a skill

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