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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. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  3. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  4. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  5. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  6. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  7. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  8. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  9. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  10. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  11. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  12. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  13. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  14. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  15. The ________________ market has crashed.
  16. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  17. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  18. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  19. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  20. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  21. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  22. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  23. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  24. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.

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

Answer key

  1. craft — a skill
  2. bark — of a tree
  3. craft — a handicraft
  4. wax — to grow
  5. stock — a soup base
  6. stem — to come from
  7. bark — to shout
  8. mark — to pay attention
  9. mark — a grade
  10. stem — a stem cell
  11. straw — to clutch at straws
  12. stock — goods
  13. straw — dry grass
  14. wax — in the ear
  15. stock — shares
  16. spring — of water
  17. craft — boats
  18. wax — for sculpting
  19. mark — a trace
  20. spring — the season
  21. spring — a coil
  22. straw — a straw man
  23. stem — of a plant
  24. bark — a dog's sound

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