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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. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  3. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  4. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  5. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  6. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  7. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  8. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  9. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  10. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  11. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  12. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  13. The light ________________ burned out.
  14. I've got to change the light ________________.
  15. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  16. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  17. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  18. The ________________ market has crashed.
  19. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  20. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  21. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  22. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  23. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  24. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.

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

Answer key

  1. craft — boats
  2. face — to confront
  3. file — a line of people
  4. stock — a soup base
  5. spring — the season
  6. pound — a weight
  7. spring — of water
  8. pound — to hit hard
  9. mark — a trace
  10. bulb — of a plant
  11. stock — goods
  12. craft — a skill
  13. bulb — for light
  14. bulb — for light
  15. face — to point toward
  16. spring — a coil
  17. mark — a grade
  18. stock — shares
  19. file — a document
  20. file — a tool
  21. craft — a handicraft
  22. face — part of the head
  23. pound — for dogs
  24. mark — to pay attention

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