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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: craft · rash · stand · clip · branch · staff · fine · mine

  1. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  2. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  3. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  4. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  5. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  6. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  7. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  8. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  9. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  10. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  11. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  12. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  13. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  14. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  15. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  16. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  17. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  18. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  19. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  20. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  21. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  22. I can't ________________ this cold.
  23. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  24. Don't do anything ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. fine — a penalty
  2. fine — high quality
  3. fine — all right
  4. branch — of a bank
  5. craft — a handicraft
  6. clip — a video
  7. branch — a division
  8. craft — a skill
  9. clip — for paper
  10. branch — of a tree
  11. craft — boats
  12. staff — employees
  13. mine — belonging to me
  14. stand — for spectators
  15. rash — a series
  16. clip — to cut
  17. mine — for digging
  18. staff — employees
  19. stand — on your feet
  20. rash — on the skin
  21. staff — a stick
  22. stand — to bear
  23. mine — an explosive
  24. rash — hasty

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