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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. Don't do anything ________________.
  2. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  3. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  4. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  5. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  6. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  7. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  8. The water is too ________________.
  9. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  10. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  11. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  12. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  13. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  14. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  15. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  16. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  17. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  18. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  19. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  20. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  21. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  22. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  23. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  24. The ________________ market has crashed.

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

Answer key

  1. rash — hasty
  2. fork — in a road
  3. fork — to eat with
  4. bear — to put up with
  5. craft — a skill
  6. fork — a garden tool
  7. stock — goods
  8. cold — not warm
  9. craft — a handicraft
  10. cold — an illness
  11. stock — a soup base
  12. content — the amount
  13. rash — on the skin
  14. bear — the animal
  15. bear — the animal
  16. toast — the most admired
  17. rash — a series
  18. content — happy
  19. craft — boats
  20. toast — bread
  21. cold — the Cold War
  22. content — videos and posts
  23. toast — a drink to someone
  24. stock — shares

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