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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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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. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  2. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  3. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  4. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  5. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  6. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  7. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  8. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  9. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  10. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  11. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  12. The ________________ market has crashed.
  13. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  14. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  15. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  16. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  17. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  18. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  19. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  20. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  21. Have you met the new head ________________?
  22. When are we going to ________________?
  23. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  24. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.

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

Answer key

  1. leaves — lets stay
  2. leaves — to go away
  3. fan — a supporter
  4. fan — a supporter
  5. wind — moving air
  6. coach — a trainer
  7. fan — to cool the air
  8. land — ground
  9. stock — goods
  10. craft — a skill
  11. wind — to turn a key
  12. stock — shares
  13. prune — to trim
  14. craft — boats
  15. stock — a soup base
  16. wind — moving air
  17. prune — the fruit
  18. land — a country
  19. coach — pulled by horses
  20. leaves — of a tree
  21. coach — a trainer
  22. land — to come down
  23. prune — to trim
  24. craft — a handicraft

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