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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. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  3. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  4. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  5. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  6. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  7. The ________________ market has crashed.
  8. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  9. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  10. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  11. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  12. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  13. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  14. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  15. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  16. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  17. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  18. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  19. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  20. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  21. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  22. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  23. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  24. Would you like some apricot ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. craft — boats
  2. craft — a skill
  3. fan — a supporter
  4. degree — from a university
  5. stem — to come from
  6. degree — an amount
  7. stock — shares
  8. stem — of a plant
  9. stem — a stem cell
  10. craft — a handicraft
  11. jam — in traffic
  12. jam — a tight spot
  13. drill — army training
  14. rule — to rule out
  15. stock — a soup base
  16. rule — government
  17. stock — goods
  18. degree — temperature
  19. drill — a practice
  20. fan — a supporter
  21. rule — a law
  22. fan — to cool the air
  23. drill — the tool
  24. jam — to spread on bread

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