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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.

Words on the sheet
468
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: spell · cold · craft · mouse · branch · scale · rest · leaves

  1. How do you ________________ your surname?
  2. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  3. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  4. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  5. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  6. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  7. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  8. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  9. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  10. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  11. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  12. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  13. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  14. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  15. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  16. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  17. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  18. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  19. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  20. The water is too ________________.
  21. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  22. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  23. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  24. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.

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

Answer key

  1. spell — letters
  2. rest — what's left
  3. cold — an illness
  4. craft — a handicraft
  5. leaves — of a tree
  6. craft — boats
  7. spell — magic
  8. scale — for weighing
  9. branch — of a tree
  10. spell — a short time
  11. rest — a break
  12. leaves — to go away
  13. cold — the Cold War
  14. scale — in music
  15. scale — size or range
  16. branch — a division
  17. mouse — the animal
  18. mouse — for a computer
  19. mouse — the animal
  20. cold — not warm
  21. craft — a skill
  22. rest — what's left
  23. branch — of a bank
  24. leaves — lets stay

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