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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. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  2. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  3. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  4. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  5. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  6. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  7. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  8. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  9. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  10. The ________________ market has crashed.
  11. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  12. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  13. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  14. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  15. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  16. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  17. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  18. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  19. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  20. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  21. Have you met the new head ________________?
  22. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  23. I'll be taking the ________________.
  24. Let us try to swim against the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. craft — a skill
  2. bore — gave birth
  3. craft — boats
  4. current — electric
  5. squash — the vegetable
  6. bore — to drill
  7. clip — a video
  8. squash — the sport
  9. stock — a soup base
  10. stock — shares
  11. current — happening now
  12. craft — a handicraft
  13. coach — a trainer
  14. bore — to tire
  15. coach — pulled by horses
  16. clip — for paper
  17. stock — goods
  18. tube — a container
  19. clip — to cut
  20. squash — to crush
  21. coach — a trainer
  22. tube — in a tire
  23. tube — the underground
  24. current — of water

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