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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. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  2. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  3. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  4. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  5. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  6. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  7. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  8. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  9. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  10. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  11. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  12. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  13. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  14. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  15. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  16. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  17. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  18. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  19. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  20. The ________________ market has crashed.
  21. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  22. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  23. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  24. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.

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

Answer key

  1. craft — boats
  2. trunk — of an elephant
  3. bat — in an idiom
  4. board — to get on
  5. board — a flat piece
  6. rock — a stone
  7. craft — a handicraft
  8. rock — music
  9. bat — for baseball
  10. bat — the animal
  11. board — a committee
  12. rock — to move gently
  13. perch — the fish
  14. wind — moving air
  15. perch — for a bird
  16. trunk — of a car
  17. perch — for a bird
  18. craft — a skill
  19. wind — moving air
  20. stock — shares
  21. wind — to turn a key
  22. stock — a soup base
  23. trunk — of a tree
  24. stock — goods

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