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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. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  2. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  3. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  4. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  5. False peace will not ________________.
  6. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  7. The water is too ________________.
  8. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  9. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  10. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  11. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  12. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  13. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  14. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  15. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  16. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  17. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  18. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  19. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  20. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  21. The ________________ market has crashed.
  22. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  23. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  24. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. board — a committee
  2. stock — a soup base
  3. bore — to drill
  4. craft — a handicraft
  5. last — to go on
  6. craft — boats
  7. cold — not warm
  8. board — to get on
  9. last — final
  10. march — music
  11. board — a flat piece
  12. craft — a skill
  13. stock — goods
  14. hand — help
  15. hand — in cards
  16. last — finally
  17. cold — the Cold War
  18. bore — to tire
  19. bore — gave birth
  20. march — the month
  21. stock — shares
  22. hand — part of the body
  23. cold — an illness
  24. march — the month

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