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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. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  3. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  4. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  5. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  6. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  7. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  8. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  9. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  10. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  11. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  12. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  13. We're on a ________________ here.
  14. The ________________ market has crashed.
  15. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  16. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  17. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  18. My father caught me by the ________________.
  19. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  20. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  21. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  22. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  23. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  24. What's the difference between broth and ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. craft — a handicraft
  2. band — a ring
  3. band — a rubber band
  4. roll — a cake
  5. chest — of your body
  6. craft — boats
  7. chest — a box
  8. mark — to pay attention
  9. arm — a part of something
  10. stock — goods
  11. wind — moving air
  12. roll — a list
  13. roll — on a roll
  14. stock — shares
  15. mark — a grade
  16. chest — of your body
  17. wind — to turn a key
  18. arm — part of the body
  19. arm — part of the body
  20. band — a music group
  21. wind — moving air
  22. craft — a skill
  23. mark — a trace
  24. stock — a soup base

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