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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 124 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. The water is too ________________.
  3. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  4. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  5. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  6. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  7. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  8. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  9. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  10. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  11. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  12. The ________________ market has crashed.
  13. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  14. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  15. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  16. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  17. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  18. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  19. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  20. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  21. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  22. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  23. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  24. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.

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

Answer key

  1. craft — a handicraft
  2. cold — not warm
  3. prune — to trim
  4. mine — an explosive
  5. craft — boats
  6. row — to paddle
  7. mine — belonging to me
  8. row — a quarrel
  9. cold — the Cold War
  10. mark — a trace
  11. stock — goods
  12. stock — shares
  13. mine — for digging
  14. craft — a skill
  15. stock — a soup base
  16. mark — a grade
  17. mark — to pay attention
  18. cue — a signal
  19. cue — a hint
  20. cue — for pool
  21. row — a line
  22. prune — the fruit
  23. cold — an illness
  24. prune — to trim

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