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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. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  3. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  4. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  5. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  6. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  7. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  8. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  9. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  10. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  11. The ________________ market has crashed.
  12. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  13. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  14. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  15. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  16. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  17. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  18. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  19. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  20. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  21. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  22. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  23. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  24. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. craft — boats
  2. chair — a leader
  3. lie — an untruth
  4. stock — a soup base
  5. chair — to sit on
  6. craft — a handicraft
  7. club — a group
  8. stock — goods
  9. file — a document
  10. file — a line of people
  11. stock — shares
  12. lean — thin
  13. craft — a skill
  14. lean — to rest against
  15. clip — for paper
  16. club — for golf
  17. lean — to bend
  18. clip — to cut
  19. chair — a professorship
  20. file — a tool
  21. club — for dancing
  22. lie — to recline
  23. lie — an untruth
  24. clip — a video

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