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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 flowers bloom in the ________________.
  2. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  3. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  4. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  5. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  6. The ________________ market has crashed.
  7. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  8. David sat on the ________________.
  9. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  10. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  11. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  12. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  13. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  14. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  15. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  16. That must've been a ________________.
  17. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  18. False peace will not ________________.
  19. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  20. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  21. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  22. Have you settled on a ________________?
  23. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  24. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.

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

Answer key

  1. spring — the season
  2. spring — of water
  3. last — finally
  4. date — the fruit
  5. stock — a soup base
  6. stock — shares
  7. swing — music
  8. swing — to play on
  9. craft — a skill
  10. craft — a handicraft
  11. rush — hurry
  12. rush — to hurry
  13. drill — the tool
  14. craft — boats
  15. drill — army training
  16. rush — a thrill
  17. spring — a coil
  18. last — to go on
  19. date — on the calendar
  20. last — final
  21. swing — in golf
  22. date — on the calendar
  23. drill — a practice
  24. stock — goods

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