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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. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  2. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  3. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  4. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  5. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  6. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  7. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  8. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  9. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  10. The ________________ market has crashed.
  11. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  12. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  13. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  14. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  15. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  16. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  17. We're on a ________________ here.
  18. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  19. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  20. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  21. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  22. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  23. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  24. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.

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

Answer key

  1. content — videos and posts
  2. net — in sport
  3. net — for catching
  4. craft — a handicraft
  5. craft — a skill
  6. band — a rubber band
  7. craft — boats
  8. scale — for weighing
  9. stock — a soup base
  10. stock — shares
  11. march — the month
  12. band — a ring
  13. roll — a cake
  14. net — after costs
  15. content — the amount
  16. march — music
  17. roll — on a roll
  18. band — a music group
  19. content — happy
  20. march — the month
  21. scale — size or range
  22. roll — a list
  23. scale — in music
  24. stock — goods

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