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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. The ________________ market has crashed.
  2. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  3. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  4. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  5. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  6. He is an ace ________________.
  7. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  8. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  9. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  10. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  11. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  12. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  13. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  14. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  15. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  16. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  17. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  18. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  19. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  20. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  21. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  22. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  23. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  24. Fill up this ________________ with water.

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

Answer key

  1. stock — shares
  2. rock — music
  3. spring — the season
  4. rock — to move gently
  5. clip — for paper
  6. pitcher — in baseball
  7. kick — in football
  8. clip — to cut
  9. tear — from crying
  10. craft — boats
  11. stock — goods
  12. kick — with a leg
  13. pitcher — a jug
  14. craft — a handicraft
  15. rock — a stone
  16. spring — a coil
  17. spring — of water
  18. clip — a video
  19. craft — a skill
  20. kick — a thrill
  21. stock — a soup base
  22. tear — to rip
  23. tear — from crying
  24. pitcher — a jug

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

Make a worksheet (0 words)

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