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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. The water is too ________________.
  2. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  3. The light ________________ burned out.
  4. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  5. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  6. I've got to change the light ________________.
  7. The ________________ took off on time.
  8. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  9. The ________________ market has crashed.
  10. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  11. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  12. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  13. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  14. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  15. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  16. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  17. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  18. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  19. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  20. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  21. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  22. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  23. The ________________ went through the wall.
  24. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — not warm
  2. craft — a skill
  3. bulb — for light
  4. cold — the Cold War
  5. craft — a handicraft
  6. bulb — for light
  7. plane — an aircraft
  8. plane — in geometry
  9. stock — shares
  10. nail — for a hammer
  11. band — a ring
  12. chip — to eat
  13. cold — an illness
  14. nail — on a finger
  15. band — a rubber band
  16. craft — boats
  17. stock — a soup base
  18. stock — goods
  19. band — a music group
  20. chip — for betting
  21. chip — in a computer
  22. plane — a tool
  23. nail — for a hammer
  24. bulb — of a plant

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