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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. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  2. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  3. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  4. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  5. The ________________ market has crashed.
  6. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  7. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  8. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  9. He works in a ________________ mill.
  10. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  11. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  12. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  13. I'll be taking the ________________.
  14. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  15. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  16. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  17. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  18. The ________________ took off on time.
  19. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  20. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  21. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  22. She's very handy with a ________________.
  23. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  24. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.

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

Answer key

  1. tube — a container
  2. stock — goods
  3. firm — decided
  4. tear — from crying
  5. stock — shares
  6. craft — boats
  7. craft — a skill
  8. craft — a handicraft
  9. saw — the tool
  10. tear — from crying
  11. saw — past of 'see'
  12. capital — a big letter
  13. tube — the underground
  14. capital — money
  15. tear — to rip
  16. capital — a city
  17. stock — a soup base
  18. plane — an aircraft
  19. plane — in geometry
  20. plane — a tool
  21. firm — a company
  22. saw — the tool
  23. tube — in a tire
  24. firm — steady

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