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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. The water is too ________________.
  2. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  3. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  4. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  5. False peace will not ________________.
  6. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  7. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  8. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  9. The ________________ took off on time.
  10. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  11. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  12. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  13. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  14. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  15. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  16. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  17. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  18. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  19. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  20. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  21. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  22. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  23. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  24. The ________________ market has crashed.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — not warm
  2. craft — a skill
  3. trunk — of a car
  4. craft — a handicraft
  5. last — to go on
  6. can — a tin
  7. last — finally
  8. trunk — of a tree
  9. plane — an aircraft
  10. can — to be able to
  11. rule — government
  12. trunk — of an elephant
  13. plane — a tool
  14. cold — the Cold War
  15. craft — boats
  16. cold — an illness
  17. stock — a soup base
  18. can — a tin
  19. stock — goods
  20. plane — in geometry
  21. last — final
  22. rule — a law
  23. rule — to rule out
  24. stock — shares

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