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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. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  2. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  3. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  4. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  5. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  6. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  7. The ________________ market has crashed.
  8. How do you ________________ your surname?
  9. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  10. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  11. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  12. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  13. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  14. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  15. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  16. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  17. The water is too ________________.
  18. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  19. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  20. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  21. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  22. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  23. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  24. What's the difference between broth and ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. craft — a handicraft
  2. kid — child
  3. current — happening now
  4. stock — goods
  5. bowl — a football final
  6. bowl — a dish
  7. stock — shares
  8. spell — letters
  9. cold — an illness
  10. perch — for a bird
  11. craft — boats
  12. bowl — to roll
  13. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  14. craft — a skill
  15. current — of water
  16. perch — for a bird
  17. cold — not warm
  18. perch — the fish
  19. spell — a short time
  20. cold — the Cold War
  21. current — electric
  22. kid — to tease
  23. spell — magic
  24. stock — a soup base

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