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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: march · row · craft · branch · rest · pitch · wind · fall

  1. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  2. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  3. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  4. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  5. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  6. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  7. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  8. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  9. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  10. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  11. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  12. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  13. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  14. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  15. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  16. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  17. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  18. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  19. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  20. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  21. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  22. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  23. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  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. rest — what's left
  2. wind — moving air
  3. branch — a division
  4. wind — to turn a key
  5. march — music
  6. craft — a handicraft
  7. fall — to drop
  8. march — the month
  9. rest — a break
  10. march — the month
  11. row — a line
  12. fall — the season
  13. fall — to drop
  14. rest — what's left
  15. pitch — a sports field
  16. wind — moving air
  17. branch — of a bank
  18. pitch — a sales talk
  19. row — a quarrel
  20. craft — a skill
  21. pitch — completely
  22. branch — of a tree
  23. craft — boats
  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