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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. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  2. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  3. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  4. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  5. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  6. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  7. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  8. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  9. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  10. The ________________ market has crashed.
  11. We're on a ________________ here.
  12. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  13. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  14. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  15. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  16. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  17. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  18. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  19. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  20. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  21. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  22. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  23. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  24. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.

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

Answer key

  1. file — a tool
  2. craft — a handicraft
  3. fork — to eat with
  4. roll — a list
  5. stock — goods
  6. fork — a garden tool
  7. kid — child
  8. shower — rain
  9. craft — a skill
  10. stock — shares
  11. roll — on a roll
  12. kid — to tease
  13. object — a thing
  14. craft — boats
  15. fork — in a road
  16. shower — a meteor shower
  17. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  18. file — a line of people
  19. roll — a cake
  20. object — to protest
  21. shower — to wash
  22. object — an aim
  23. stock — a soup base
  24. file — a document

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