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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. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  2. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  3. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  4. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  5. Don't do anything ________________.
  6. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  7. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  8. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  9. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  10. The water is too ________________.
  11. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  12. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  13. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  14. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  15. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  16. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  17. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  18. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  19. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  20. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  21. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  22. The ________________ market has crashed.
  23. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  24. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.

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

Answer key

  1. craft — a skill
  2. craft — boats
  3. rock — to move gently
  4. root — of a plant
  5. rash — hasty
  6. stock — a soup base
  7. march — the month
  8. march — the month
  9. pass — to succeed
  10. cold — not warm
  11. root — of a word
  12. rock — music
  13. march — music
  14. rash — a series
  15. cold — the Cold War
  16. root — the cause
  17. rash — on the skin
  18. cold — an illness
  19. rock — a stone
  20. craft — a handicraft
  21. stock — goods
  22. stock — shares
  23. pass — a permit
  24. pass — to spend time

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