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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. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  2. Have you settled on a ________________?
  3. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  4. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  5. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  6. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  7. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  8. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  9. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  10. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  11. The ________________ market has crashed.
  12. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  13. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  14. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  15. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  16. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  17. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  18. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  19. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  20. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  21. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  22. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  23. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  24. Would you like some apricot ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. date — on the calendar
  2. date — on the calendar
  3. wound — an injury
  4. stock — a soup base
  5. craft — boats
  6. branch — of a bank
  7. branch — a division
  8. wind — moving air
  9. jam — in traffic
  10. stock — goods
  11. stock — shares
  12. wound — an injury
  13. branch — of a tree
  14. rest — what's left
  15. rest — what's left
  16. jam — a tight spot
  17. craft — a handicraft
  18. date — the fruit
  19. wind — to turn a key
  20. rest — a break
  21. wound — past of 'wind'
  22. craft — a skill
  23. wind — moving air
  24. jam — to spread on bread

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