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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. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  2. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  3. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  4. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  5. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  6. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  7. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  8. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  9. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  10. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  11. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  12. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  13. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  14. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  15. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  16. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  17. The ________________ market has crashed.
  18. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  19. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  20. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  21. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  22. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  23. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  24. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.

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

Answer key

  1. stock — goods
  2. craft — a handicraft
  3. stock — a soup base
  4. root — of a word
  5. craft — boats
  6. bore — to tire
  7. field — for sport
  8. kid — child
  9. field — a subject
  10. leaves — lets stay
  11. field — farmland
  12. leaves — of a tree
  13. bore — to drill
  14. hand — part of the body
  15. hand — in cards
  16. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  17. stock — shares
  18. kid — to tease
  19. craft — a skill
  20. root — the cause
  21. leaves — to go away
  22. root — of a plant
  23. hand — help
  24. bore — gave birth

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