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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. Have you settled on a ________________?
  2. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  3. Have you met the new head ________________?
  4. The ________________ went through the wall.
  5. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  6. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  7. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  8. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  9. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  10. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  11. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  12. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  13. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  14. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  15. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  16. The ________________ market has crashed.
  17. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  18. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  19. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  20. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  21. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  22. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  23. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  24. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.

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

Answer key

  1. date — on the calendar
  2. wound — an injury
  3. coach — a trainer
  4. nail — for a hammer
  5. coach — pulled by horses
  6. wound — an injury
  7. bass — the instrument
  8. nail — for a hammer
  9. craft — boats
  10. date — on the calendar
  11. craft — a handicraft
  12. nail — on a finger
  13. straw — to clutch at straws
  14. bass — the fish
  15. bass — low music
  16. stock — shares
  17. wound — past of 'wind'
  18. stock — a soup base
  19. date — the fruit
  20. straw — a straw man
  21. stock — goods
  22. craft — a skill
  23. straw — dry grass
  24. coach — a trainer

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