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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 supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  2. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  3. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  4. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  5. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  6. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  7. False peace will not ________________.
  8. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  9. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  10. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  11. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  12. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  13. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  14. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  15. The ________________ market has crashed.
  16. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  17. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  18. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  19. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  20. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  21. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  22. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  23. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  24. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. stock — goods
  2. craft — a skill
  3. craft — boats
  4. wave — a sudden rise
  5. racket — for tennis
  6. wax — for sculpting
  7. last — to go on
  8. clip — for paper
  9. craft — a handicraft
  10. wax — to grow
  11. stock — a soup base
  12. wax — in the ear
  13. wound — an injury
  14. wave — of the sea
  15. stock — shares
  16. last — final
  17. racket — for tennis
  18. wave — with your hand
  19. racket — a loud noise
  20. clip — to cut
  21. last — finally
  22. wound — an injury
  23. wound — past of 'wind'
  24. clip — a video

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