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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. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  3. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  4. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  5. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  6. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  7. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  8. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  9. The ________________ market has crashed.
  10. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  11. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  12. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  13. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  14. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  15. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  16. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  17. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  18. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  19. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  20. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  21. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  22. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  23. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  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. stock — goods
  2. craft — a handicraft
  3. pound — for dogs
  4. straw — a straw man
  5. march — the month
  6. spring — the season
  7. craft — a skill
  8. shower — rain
  9. stock — shares
  10. spring — a coil
  11. shower — a meteor shower
  12. craft — boats
  13. spring — of water
  14. straw — to clutch at straws
  15. march — music
  16. march — the month
  17. shower — to wash
  18. fan — a supporter
  19. pound — a weight
  20. pound — to hit hard
  21. fan — to cool the air
  22. straw — dry grass
  23. fan — a supporter
  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