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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. When are we going to ________________?
  2. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  3. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  4. False peace will not ________________.
  5. The ________________ market has crashed.
  6. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  7. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  8. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  9. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  10. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  11. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  12. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  13. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  14. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  15. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  16. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  17. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  18. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  19. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  20. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  21. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  22. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  23. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  24. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.

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

Answer key

  1. land — to come down
  2. craft — boats
  3. root — of a plant
  4. last — to go on
  5. stock — shares
  6. bat — for baseball
  7. craft — a skill
  8. stock — goods
  9. last — final
  10. patient — a sick person
  11. fine — high quality
  12. root — the cause
  13. last — finally
  14. fine — a penalty
  15. root — of a word
  16. patient — a sick person
  17. stock — a soup base
  18. fine — all right
  19. land — ground
  20. craft — a handicraft
  21. land — a country
  22. bat — the animal
  23. bat — in an idiom
  24. patient — calm and waiting

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