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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. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  2. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  3. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  4. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  5. I'll be taking the ________________.
  6. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  7. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  8. This piece is in a major ________________.
  9. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  10. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  11. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  12. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  13. The ________________ market has crashed.
  14. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  15. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  16. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  17. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  18. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  19. Did you ________________ the meat?
  20. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  21. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  22. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  23. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  24. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.

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

Answer key

  1. craft — boats
  2. band — a ring
  3. band — a music group
  4. season — of the year
  5. tube — the underground
  6. tube — a container
  7. key — for a lock
  8. key — in music
  9. stock — a soup base
  10. board — a committee
  11. stock — goods
  12. season — in sport
  13. stock — shares
  14. board — to get on
  15. tube — in a tire
  16. tear — to rip
  17. craft — a handicraft
  18. craft — a skill
  19. season — to add flavour
  20. band — a rubber band
  21. board — a flat piece
  22. key — the most important part
  23. tear — from crying
  24. tear — from crying

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