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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. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  2. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  3. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  4. The ________________ market has crashed.
  5. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  6. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  7. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  8. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  9. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  10. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  11. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  12. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  13. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  14. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  15. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  16. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  17. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  18. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  19. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  20. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  21. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  22. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  23. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  24. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.

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

Answer key

  1. bore — to tire
  2. bass — low music
  3. rest — what's left
  4. stock — shares
  5. stock — goods
  6. rest — a break
  7. craft — boats
  8. trunk — of an elephant
  9. march — music
  10. trunk — of a car
  11. bore — gave birth
  12. bass — the instrument
  13. stock — a soup base
  14. track — to keep track
  15. trunk — of a tree
  16. bore — to drill
  17. track — a song
  18. track — a path
  19. march — the month
  20. march — the month
  21. bass — the fish
  22. craft — a handicraft
  23. craft — a skill
  24. rest — what's left

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