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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. The ________________ market has crashed.
  3. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  4. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  5. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  6. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  7. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  8. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  9. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  10. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  11. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  12. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  13. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  14. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  15. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  16. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  17. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  18. Did you ________________ the meat?
  19. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  20. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  21. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  22. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  23. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  24. Spring is a pleasant ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. craft — boats
  2. stock — shares
  3. fan — a supporter
  4. lash — to lash out
  5. wind — to turn a key
  6. scale — in music
  7. scale — size or range
  8. craft — a handicraft
  9. craft — a skill
  10. capital — a big letter
  11. lash — a whip stroke
  12. lash — an eyelash
  13. capital — money
  14. scale — for weighing
  15. stock — goods
  16. wind — moving air
  17. wind — moving air
  18. season — to add flavour
  19. fan — to cool the air
  20. fan — a supporter
  21. capital — a city
  22. stock — a soup base
  23. season — in sport
  24. season — of the year

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