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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. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  2. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  3. He is an ace ________________.
  4. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  5. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  6. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  7. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  8. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  9. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  10. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  11. The ________________ market has crashed.
  12. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  13. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  14. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  15. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  16. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  17. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  18. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  19. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  20. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  21. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  22. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  23. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  24. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.

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

Answer key

  1. craft — boats
  2. kid — to tease
  3. pitcher — in baseball
  4. march — the month
  5. bark — a dog's sound
  6. craft — a skill
  7. pitcher — a jug
  8. bark — of a tree
  9. wound — past of 'wind'
  10. stock — a soup base
  11. stock — shares
  12. board — a flat piece
  13. bark — to shout
  14. wound — an injury
  15. wound — an injury
  16. pitcher — a jug
  17. craft — a handicraft
  18. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  19. kid — child
  20. march — music
  21. board — a committee
  22. march — the month
  23. stock — goods
  24. board — to get on

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