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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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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: fork · craft · stock · patient · wind · last

  1. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  2. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  3. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  4. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  5. False peace will not ________________.
  6. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  7. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  8. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  9. The ________________ market has crashed.
  10. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  11. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  12. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  13. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  14. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  15. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  16. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  17. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  18. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.

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

Answer key

  1. craft — a handicraft
  2. wind — to turn a key
  3. wind — moving air
  4. patient — calm and waiting
  5. last — to go on
  6. last — finally
  7. wind — moving air
  8. last — final
  9. stock — shares
  10. patient — a sick person
  11. craft — a skill
  12. stock — goods
  13. patient — a sick person
  14. craft — boats
  15. stock — a soup base
  16. fork — in a road
  17. fork — a garden tool
  18. fork — to eat with

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