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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 president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  3. The ________________ market has crashed.
  4. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  5. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  6. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  7. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  8. He was locked up in a ________________.
  9. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  10. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  11. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  12. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  13. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  14. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  15. False peace will not ________________.
  16. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  17. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  18. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  19. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  20. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  21. David sat on the ________________.
  22. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  23. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  24. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!

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

Answer key

  1. craft — boats
  2. squash — to crush
  3. stock — shares
  4. swing — music
  5. leaves — lets stay
  6. cell — a phone
  7. craft — a handicraft
  8. cell — in a prison
  9. cell — in biology
  10. squash — the vegetable
  11. craft — a skill
  12. leaves — to go away
  13. leaves — of a tree
  14. patient — calm and waiting
  15. last — to go on
  16. stock — a soup base
  17. last — finally
  18. squash — the sport
  19. stock — goods
  20. patient — a sick person
  21. swing — to play on
  22. swing — in golf
  23. patient — a sick person
  24. last — final

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