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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. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  2. How do you ________________ your surname?
  3. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  4. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  5. The ________________ market has crashed.
  6. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  7. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  8. Did you ________________ the meat?
  9. He was locked up in a ________________.
  10. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  11. There's no middle ________________.
  12. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  13. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  14. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  15. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  16. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  17. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  18. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  19. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  20. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  21. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  22. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  23. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  24. Hold the papers together with a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. craft — a skill
  2. spell — letters
  3. stock — goods
  4. season — of the year
  5. stock — shares
  6. ground — the earth
  7. spell — magic
  8. season — to add flavour
  9. cell — in a prison
  10. ground — crushed
  11. ground — a position
  12. cell — in biology
  13. clip — to cut
  14. bass — low music
  15. craft — boats
  16. bass — the fish
  17. clip — a video
  18. craft — a handicraft
  19. bass — the instrument
  20. stock — a soup base
  21. cell — a phone
  22. spell — a short time
  23. season — in sport
  24. clip — for paper

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