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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. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  2. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  3. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  4. The ________________ market has crashed.
  5. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  6. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  7. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  8. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  9. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  10. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  11. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  12. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  13. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  14. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  15. He is an ace ________________.
  16. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  17. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  18. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  19. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  20. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  21. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  22. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  23. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  24. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.

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

Answer key

  1. tear — from crying
  2. scale — for weighing
  3. scale — in music
  4. stock — shares
  5. craft — a handicraft
  6. fall — to drop
  7. tear — from crying
  8. craft — a skill
  9. hand — in cards
  10. hand — part of the body
  11. march — music
  12. stock — a soup base
  13. stock — goods
  14. fall — the season
  15. pitcher — in baseball
  16. march — the month
  17. craft — boats
  18. scale — size or range
  19. fall — to drop
  20. hand — help
  21. tear — to rip
  22. pitcher — a jug
  23. march — the month
  24. pitcher — a jug

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