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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: craft · bank · mate · field · hand · snap · branch · foot

  1. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  2. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  3. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  4. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  5. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  6. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  7. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  8. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  9. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  10. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  11. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  12. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  13. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  14. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  15. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  16. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  17. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  18. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  19. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  20. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  21. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  22. Have you found your soul ________________?
  23. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  24. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. craft — a handicraft
  2. foot — a measure
  3. hand — help
  4. craft — boats
  5. bank — for money
  6. branch — a division
  7. snap — to speak sharply
  8. snap — to click
  9. field — farmland
  10. bank — of a river
  11. bank — for money
  12. mate — to breed
  13. snap — to snap out of it
  14. foot — the bottom
  15. foot — part of the body
  16. branch — of a tree
  17. mate — a friend
  18. craft — a skill
  19. hand — in cards
  20. branch — of a bank
  21. field — for sport
  22. mate — a partner
  23. field — a subject
  24. hand — part of the body

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