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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 116 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. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  2. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  3. The water is too ________________.
  4. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  5. The ________________ market has crashed.
  6. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  7. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  8. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  9. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  10. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  11. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  12. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  13. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  14. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  15. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  16. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  17. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  18. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  19. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  20. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  21. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  22. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  23. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  24. I play ________________ in a jazz band.

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

Answer key

  1. craft — a handicraft
  2. hide — to keep secret
  3. cold — not warm
  4. hide — to keep secret
  5. stock — shares
  6. stock — a soup base
  7. stock — goods
  8. bank — for money
  9. file — a document
  10. file — a line of people
  11. hide — animal skin
  12. cold — the Cold War
  13. bass — the fish
  14. craft — boats
  15. cold — an illness
  16. lash — an eyelash
  17. lash — a whip stroke
  18. bank — of a river
  19. lash — to lash out
  20. bank — for money
  21. bass — low music
  22. file — a tool
  23. craft — a skill
  24. bass — the instrument

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