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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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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: shower · file · stem · craft · branch · plane · wind · court

  1. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  2. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  3. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  4. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  5. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  6. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  7. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  8. The ________________ took off on time.
  9. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  10. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  11. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  12. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  13. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  14. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  15. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  16. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  17. The ball is in your ________________.
  18. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  19. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  20. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  21. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  22. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  23. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  24. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.

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

Answer key

  1. file — a tool
  2. shower — a meteor shower
  3. file — a line of people
  4. stem — to come from
  5. shower — to wash
  6. wind — to turn a key
  7. plane — in geometry
  8. plane — an aircraft
  9. stem — of a plant
  10. shower — rain
  11. branch — a division
  12. court — of a king
  13. craft — a skill
  14. wind — moving air
  15. wind — moving air
  16. stem — a stem cell
  17. court — for sport
  18. craft — a handicraft
  19. file — a document
  20. court — of law
  21. branch — of a tree
  22. branch — of a bank
  23. craft — boats
  24. plane — a tool

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