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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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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. The ________________ market has crashed.
  2. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  3. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  4. He is an ace ________________.
  5. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  6. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  7. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  8. It's one o'clock ________________.
  9. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  10. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  11. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  12. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  13. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  14. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  15. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  16. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  17. That was a fun ________________.
  18. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  19. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  20. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  21. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  22. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  23. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  24. He's quite ________________, isn't he?

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

Answer key

  1. stock — shares
  2. stick — to attach or keep to
  3. march — the month
  4. pitcher — in baseball
  5. craft — a skill
  6. march — the month
  7. pitcher — a jug
  8. sharp — exactly
  9. craft — a handicraft
  10. stick — a piece of wood
  11. shower — to wash
  12. pitcher — a jug
  13. stock — a soup base
  14. stock — goods
  15. march — music
  16. shower — rain
  17. game — a match
  18. craft — boats
  19. game — wild animals
  20. stick — a piece of wood
  21. shower — a meteor shower
  22. sharp — with an edge
  23. game — a kind of play
  24. sharp — clever

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