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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 120 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. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  2. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  3. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  4. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  5. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  6. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  7. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  8. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  9. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  10. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  11. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  12. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  13. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  14. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  15. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  16. The ________________ market has crashed.
  17. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  18. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  19. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  20. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  21. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  22. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  23. I can't ________________ this cold.
  24. I don't want to ________________ the boat.

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

Answer key

  1. rock — music
  2. stock — goods
  3. tear — to rip
  4. lean — to bend
  5. craft — a handicraft
  6. craft — boats
  7. stock — a soup base
  8. stand — on your feet
  9. club — for dancing
  10. lean — to rest against
  11. club — for golf
  12. club — a group
  13. stand — for spectators
  14. tear — from crying
  15. net — for catching
  16. stock — shares
  17. net — in sport
  18. rock — a stone
  19. tear — from crying
  20. net — after costs
  21. lean — thin
  22. craft — a skill
  23. stand — to bear
  24. rock — to move gently

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