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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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Word bank
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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: march · wind · pit · craft · branch · track · band · scale

  1. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  2. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  3. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  4. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  5. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  6. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  7. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  8. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  9. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  10. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  11. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  12. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  13. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  14. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  15. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  16. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  17. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  18. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  19. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  20. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  21. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  22. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  23. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  24. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.

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

Answer key

  1. craft — a handicraft
  2. band — a rubber band
  3. craft — a skill
  4. scale — for weighing
  5. track — a song
  6. wind — to turn a key
  7. band — a ring
  8. pit — in a race
  9. craft — boats
  10. march — music
  11. track — to keep track
  12. scale — in music
  13. pit — a fruit stone
  14. scale — size or range
  15. branch — of a tree
  16. branch — a division
  17. pit — a hole
  18. march — the month
  19. wind — moving air
  20. band — a music group
  21. march — the month
  22. track — a path
  23. branch — of a bank
  24. wind — moving air

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