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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. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  2. He was locked up in a ________________.
  3. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  4. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  5. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  6. The water is too ________________.
  7. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  8. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  9. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  10. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  11. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  12. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  13. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  14. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  15. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  16. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  17. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  18. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  19. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  20. The ________________ market has crashed.
  21. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  22. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  23. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  24. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.

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

Answer key

  1. craft — a handicraft
  2. cell — in a prison
  3. cell — a phone
  4. stock — goods
  5. lash — to lash out
  6. cold — not warm
  7. file — a tool
  8. stock — a soup base
  9. pit — a hole
  10. bore — gave birth
  11. file — a document
  12. craft — a skill
  13. cold — an illness
  14. pit — a fruit stone
  15. craft — boats
  16. pit — in a race
  17. lash — an eyelash
  18. bore — to tire
  19. cold — the Cold War
  20. stock — shares
  21. cell — in biology
  22. file — a line of people
  23. lash — a whip stroke
  24. bore — to drill

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