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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 116 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. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  2. False peace will not ________________.
  3. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  4. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  5. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  6. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  7. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  8. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  9. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  10. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  11. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  12. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  13. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  14. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  15. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  16. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  17. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  18. The ________________ market has crashed.
  19. The ball is in your ________________.
  20. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  21. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  22. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  23. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  24. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.

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

Answer key

  1. craft — a handicraft
  2. last — to go on
  3. court — of law
  4. pitch — a sports field
  5. march — music
  6. stock — goods
  7. craft — a skill
  8. stock — a soup base
  9. march — the month
  10. row — a line
  11. deal — to handle
  12. row — to paddle
  13. craft — boats
  14. last — final
  15. pitch — a sales talk
  16. court — of a king
  17. last — finally
  18. stock — shares
  19. court — for sport
  20. deal — an agreement
  21. deal — a big deal
  22. pitch — completely
  23. row — a quarrel
  24. march — the month

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