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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: pop · chest · staff · branch · craft · band · cap · net

  1. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  2. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  3. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  4. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  5. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  6. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  7. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  8. You don't need to ________________ round.
  9. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  10. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  11. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  12. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  13. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  14. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  15. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  16. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  17. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  18. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  19. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  20. We're almost out of ________________.
  21. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  22. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  23. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  24. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.

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

Answer key

  1. staff — employees
  2. craft — boats
  3. staff — employees
  4. craft — a skill
  5. cap — of ice
  6. staff — a stick
  7. chest — a box
  8. pop — to visit
  9. branch — a division
  10. pop — music
  11. cap — a lid
  12. band — a rubber band
  13. net — in sport
  14. branch — of a tree
  15. band — a ring
  16. chest — of your body
  17. band — a music group
  18. net — for catching
  19. cap — a hat
  20. pop — soda
  21. net — after costs
  22. chest — of your body
  23. branch — of a bank
  24. craft — a handicraft

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