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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. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  2. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  3. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  4. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  5. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  6. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  7. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  8. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  9. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  10. The ________________ market has crashed.
  11. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  12. The ball is in your ________________.
  13. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  14. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  15. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  16. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  17. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  18. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  19. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  20. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  21. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  22. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  23. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  24. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.

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

Answer key

  1. can — to be able to
  2. stock — goods
  3. row — a quarrel
  4. stock — a soup base
  5. craft — a skill
  6. prune — to trim
  7. craft — a handicraft
  8. degree — from a university
  9. craft — boats
  10. stock — shares
  11. prune — to trim
  12. court — for sport
  13. degree — an amount
  14. row — a line
  15. court — of a king
  16. court — of law
  17. can — a tin
  18. prune — the fruit
  19. degree — temperature
  20. can — a tin
  21. foot — the bottom
  22. foot — part of the body
  23. row — to paddle
  24. foot — a measure

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