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

Word bank: root · branch · bark · clip · last · rest · stick · craft

  1. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  2. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  3. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  4. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  5. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  6. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  7. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  8. False peace will not ________________.
  9. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  10. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  11. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  12. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  13. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  14. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  15. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  16. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  17. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  18. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  19. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  20. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  21. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  22. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  23. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  24. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.

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

Answer key

  1. craft — boats
  2. last — final
  3. rest — what's left
  4. clip — for paper
  5. stick — a piece of wood
  6. branch — of a bank
  7. bark — to shout
  8. last — to go on
  9. rest — a break
  10. stick — a piece of wood
  11. branch — of a tree
  12. root — the cause
  13. branch — a division
  14. bark — a dog's sound
  15. last — finally
  16. clip — a video
  17. craft — a handicraft
  18. craft — a skill
  19. clip — to cut
  20. root — of a word
  21. rest — what's left
  22. bark — of a tree
  23. root — of a plant
  24. stick — to attach or keep to

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