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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. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  2. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  3. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  4. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  5. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  6. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  7. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  8. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  9. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  10. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  11. False peace will not ________________.
  12. The ________________ market has crashed.
  13. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  14. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  15. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  16. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  17. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  18. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  19. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  20. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  21. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  22. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  23. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  24. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.

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

Answer key

  1. craft — boats
  2. lean — to rest against
  3. face — part of the head
  4. stock — goods
  5. wind — to turn a key
  6. stock — a soup base
  7. lean — to bend
  8. lean — thin
  9. wake — a trail
  10. wake — to stop sleeping
  11. last — to go on
  12. stock — shares
  13. craft — a skill
  14. wind — moving air
  15. current — happening now
  16. craft — a handicraft
  17. face — to confront
  18. wind — moving air
  19. wake — before a funeral
  20. last — final
  21. last — finally
  22. current — of water
  23. current — electric
  24. face — to point toward

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