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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. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  4. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  5. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  6. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  7. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  8. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  9. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  10. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  11. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  12. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  13. Have you met the new head ________________?
  14. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  15. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  16. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  17. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  18. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  19. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  20. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  21. Did you ________________ the meat?
  22. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  23. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  24. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.

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

Answer key

  1. craft — boats
  2. stock — shares
  3. fork — in a road
  4. wind — to turn a key
  5. stock — goods
  6. stock — a soup base
  7. season — of the year
  8. season — in sport
  9. dip — to dunk
  10. fork — to eat with
  11. coach — pulled by horses
  12. wind — moving air
  13. coach — a trainer
  14. coach — a trainer
  15. wind — moving air
  16. dip — to sink
  17. bat — the animal
  18. craft — a handicraft
  19. bat — for baseball
  20. craft — a skill
  21. season — to add flavour
  22. fork — a garden tool
  23. bat — in an idiom
  24. dip — a sauce

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