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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. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  2. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  3. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  4. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  5. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  6. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  7. Have you settled on a ________________?
  8. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  9. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  10. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  11. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  12. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  13. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  14. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  15. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  16. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  17. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  18. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  19. The ________________ market has crashed.
  20. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  21. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  22. That was a fun ________________.
  23. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  24. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. stock — goods
  2. row — a quarrel
  3. pass — to spend time
  4. snap — to click
  5. stock — a soup base
  6. pass — to succeed
  7. date — on the calendar
  8. fork — in a road
  9. row — a line
  10. craft — a handicraft
  11. snap — to speak sharply
  12. fork — a garden tool
  13. game — a kind of play
  14. snap — to snap out of it
  15. craft — a skill
  16. date — the fruit
  17. fork — to eat with
  18. pass — a permit
  19. stock — shares
  20. game — wild animals
  21. row — to paddle
  22. game — a match
  23. craft — boats
  24. date — on the calendar

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