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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 120 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. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  2. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  3. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  4. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  5. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  6. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  7. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  8. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  9. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  10. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  11. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  12. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  13. The ________________ market has crashed.
  14. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  15. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  16. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  17. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  18. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  19. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  20. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  21. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  22. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  23. False peace will not ________________.
  24. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.

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

Answer key

  1. mark — to pay attention
  2. stock — goods
  3. last — final
  4. shower — to wash
  5. shower — a meteor shower
  6. staff — a stick
  7. craft — a handicraft
  8. staff — employees
  9. craft — a skill
  10. last — finally
  11. branch — a division
  12. scale — size or range
  13. stock — shares
  14. branch — of a tree
  15. mark — a trace
  16. staff — employees
  17. craft — boats
  18. shower — rain
  19. stock — a soup base
  20. mark — a grade
  21. scale — in music
  22. branch — of a bank
  23. last — to go on
  24. scale — for weighing

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