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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: staff · craft · branch · fall · cold · object · cell · lie

  1. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  2. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  3. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  4. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  5. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  6. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  7. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  8. The water is too ________________.
  9. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  10. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  11. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  12. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  13. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  14. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  15. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  16. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  17. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  18. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  19. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  20. He was locked up in a ________________.
  21. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  22. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  23. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  24. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.

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

Answer key

  1. branch — a division
  2. branch — of a tree
  3. fall — the season
  4. staff — a stick
  5. staff — employees
  6. craft — a skill
  7. fall — to drop
  8. cold — not warm
  9. fall — to drop
  10. object — to protest
  11. cell — in biology
  12. staff — employees
  13. lie — to recline
  14. lie — an untruth
  15. branch — of a bank
  16. cell — a phone
  17. lie — an untruth
  18. cold — the Cold War
  19. craft — boats
  20. cell — in a prison
  21. cold — an illness
  22. object — an aim
  23. craft — a handicraft
  24. object — a thing

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