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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. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  2. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  3. The ________________ market has crashed.
  4. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  5. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  6. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  7. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  8. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  9. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  10. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  11. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  12. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  13. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  14. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  15. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  16. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  17. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  18. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  19. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  20. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  21. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  22. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  23. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  24. What was your ________________ profit last year?

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

Answer key

  1. toast — bread
  2. craft — a skill
  3. stock — shares
  4. straw — dry grass
  5. toast — the most admired
  6. toast — a drink to someone
  7. chest — a box
  8. craft — boats
  9. net — in sport
  10. chest — of your body
  11. rock — music
  12. straw — to clutch at straws
  13. rock — to move gently
  14. rock — a stone
  15. net — for catching
  16. wake — a trail
  17. wake — before a funeral
  18. chest — of your body
  19. wake — to stop sleeping
  20. stock — a soup base
  21. stock — goods
  22. craft — a handicraft
  23. straw — a straw man
  24. net — after costs

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