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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. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  2. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  3. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  4. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  5. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  6. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  7. The ________________ market has crashed.
  8. You don't need to ________________ round.
  9. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  10. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  11. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  12. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  13. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  14. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  15. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  16. My father caught me by the ________________.
  17. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  18. We're almost out of ________________.
  19. False peace will not ________________.
  20. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  21. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  22. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  23. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  24. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.

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

Answer key

  1. last — final
  2. craft — boats
  3. craft — a handicraft
  4. last — finally
  5. rule — government
  6. arm — part of the body
  7. stock — shares
  8. pop — to visit
  9. rule — a law
  10. prune — the fruit
  11. stock — goods
  12. net — in sport
  13. craft — a skill
  14. rule — to rule out
  15. pop — music
  16. arm — part of the body
  17. net — for catching
  18. pop — soda
  19. last — to go on
  20. prune — to trim
  21. net — after costs
  22. prune — to trim
  23. stock — a soup base
  24. arm — a part of something

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