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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. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  2. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  3. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  4. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  5. It's one o'clock ________________.
  6. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  7. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  8. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  9. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  10. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  11. The ball is in your ________________.
  12. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  13. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  14. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  15. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  16. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  17. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  18. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  19. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  20. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  21. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  22. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  23. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  24. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.

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

Answer key

  1. kick — in football
  2. craft — boats
  3. stem — a stem cell
  4. kick — a thrill
  5. sharp — exactly
  6. branch — of a tree
  7. sharp — with an edge
  8. branch — of a bank
  9. pass — to succeed
  10. branch — a division
  11. court — for sport
  12. pass — to spend time
  13. stem — of a plant
  14. tear — from crying
  15. court — of law
  16. kick — with a leg
  17. stem — to come from
  18. sharp — clever
  19. tear — from crying
  20. pass — a permit
  21. tear — to rip
  22. craft — a skill
  23. court — of a king
  24. craft — a handicraft

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