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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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Word bank
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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: field · wind · bear · stock · saw · craft

  1. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  2. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  3. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  4. She's very handy with a ________________.
  5. The ________________ market has crashed.
  6. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  7. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  8. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  9. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  10. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  11. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  12. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  13. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  14. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  15. He works in a ________________ mill.
  16. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  17. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  18. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.

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

Answer key

  1. stock — a soup base
  2. craft — boats
  3. bear — the animal
  4. saw — the tool
  5. stock — shares
  6. bear — to put up with
  7. saw — past of 'see'
  8. stock — goods
  9. wind — moving air
  10. field — farmland
  11. field — for sport
  12. craft — a skill
  13. wind — to turn a key
  14. craft — a handicraft
  15. saw — the tool
  16. wind — moving air
  17. bear — the animal
  18. field — a subject

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