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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 120 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. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  2. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  3. He was locked up in a ________________.
  4. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  5. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  6. The ________________ took off on time.
  7. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  8. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  9. Have you found your soul ________________?
  10. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  11. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  12. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  13. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  14. The ________________ market has crashed.
  15. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  16. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  17. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  18. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  19. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  20. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  21. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  22. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  23. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  24. Have you met the new head ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. coach — pulled by horses
  2. craft — a skill
  3. cell — in a prison
  4. stock — goods
  5. coach — a trainer
  6. plane — an aircraft
  7. craft — boats
  8. degree — from a university
  9. mate — a partner
  10. stock — a soup base
  11. plane — a tool
  12. degree — an amount
  13. object — a thing
  14. stock — shares
  15. cell — a phone
  16. mate — a friend
  17. cell — in biology
  18. object — to protest
  19. plane — in geometry
  20. craft — a handicraft
  21. degree — temperature
  22. object — an aim
  23. mate — to breed
  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