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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: spell · branch · hand · craft · kid · present · rush · swing

  1. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  2. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  3. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  4. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  5. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  6. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  7. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  8. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  9. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  10. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  11. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  12. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  13. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  14. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  15. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  16. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  17. David sat on the ________________.
  18. That must've been a ________________.
  19. How do you ________________ your surname?
  20. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  21. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  22. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  23. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  24. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.

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

Answer key

  1. present — a gift
  2. craft — a handicraft
  3. rush — to hurry
  4. branch — of a tree
  5. rush — hurry
  6. craft — a skill
  7. craft — boats
  8. spell — magic
  9. kid — to tease
  10. kid — child
  11. hand — in cards
  12. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  13. hand — help
  14. swing — in golf
  15. present — there
  16. present — the time now
  17. swing — to play on
  18. rush — a thrill
  19. spell — letters
  20. hand — part of the body
  21. spell — a short time
  22. branch — of a bank
  23. branch — a division
  24. swing — music

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