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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.

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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: root · bear · fan · net · land · craft · branch · wave

  1. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  2. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  3. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  4. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  5. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  6. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  7. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  8. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  9. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  10. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  11. When are we going to ________________?
  12. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  13. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  14. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  15. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  16. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  17. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  18. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  19. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  20. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  21. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  22. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  23. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  24. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.

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

Answer key

  1. craft — boats
  2. net — after costs
  3. land — a country
  4. wave — of the sea
  5. net — for catching
  6. fan — a supporter
  7. land — ground
  8. fan — a supporter
  9. wave — a sudden rise
  10. branch — a division
  11. land — to come down
  12. root — of a plant
  13. root — the cause
  14. bear — to put up with
  15. craft — a handicraft
  16. root — of a word
  17. bear — the animal
  18. bear — the animal
  19. fan — to cool the air
  20. net — in sport
  21. wave — with your hand
  22. branch — of a bank
  23. craft — a skill
  24. branch — of a tree

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