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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: bank · craft · cold · file · branch · ground · spell · season

  1. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  2. Did you ________________ the meat?
  3. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  4. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  5. There's no middle ________________.
  6. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  7. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  8. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  9. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  10. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  11. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  12. The water is too ________________.
  13. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  14. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  15. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  16. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  17. How do you ________________ your surname?
  18. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  19. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  20. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  21. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  22. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  23. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  24. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. branch — of a tree
  2. season — to add flavour
  3. branch — of a bank
  4. bank — of a river
  5. ground — a position
  6. craft — a handicraft
  7. bank — for money
  8. ground — crushed
  9. cold — an illness
  10. file — a document
  11. spell — a short time
  12. cold — not warm
  13. ground — the earth
  14. craft — a skill
  15. file — a line of people
  16. season — in sport
  17. spell — letters
  18. craft — boats
  19. season — of the year
  20. file — a tool
  21. branch — a division
  22. cold — the Cold War
  23. bank — for money
  24. spell — magic

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