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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 116 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. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  2. I can't ________________ this cold.
  3. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  4. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  5. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  6. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  7. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  8. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  9. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  10. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  11. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  12. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  13. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  14. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  15. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  16. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  17. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  18. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  19. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  20. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  21. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  22. The ________________ market has crashed.
  23. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  24. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. craft — a handicraft
  2. stand — to bear
  3. fork — a garden tool
  4. drill — army training
  5. craft — boats
  6. stand — on your feet
  7. degree — an amount
  8. craft — a skill
  9. tear — from crying
  10. stock — a soup base
  11. tear — to rip
  12. tear — from crying
  13. drill — the tool
  14. fork — in a road
  15. degree — from a university
  16. drill — a practice
  17. degree — temperature
  18. band — a rubber band
  19. band — a music group
  20. fork — to eat with
  21. stand — for spectators
  22. stock — shares
  23. stock — goods
  24. band — a ring

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