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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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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: last · toast · stock · spring · craft · court · bound · pitch

  1. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  2. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  3. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  4. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  5. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  6. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  7. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  8. The ball is in your ________________.
  9. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  10. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  11. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  12. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  13. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  14. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  15. False peace will not ________________.
  16. The ________________ market has crashed.
  17. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  18. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  19. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  20. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  21. That was ________________ to happen.
  22. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  23. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  24. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.

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

Answer key

  1. spring — a coil
  2. craft — a handicraft
  3. stock — a soup base
  4. toast — the most admired
  5. spring — of water
  6. spring — the season
  7. toast — bread
  8. court — for sport
  9. stock — goods
  10. bound — obliged
  11. pitch — a sports field
  12. craft — a skill
  13. court — of law
  14. pitch — a sales talk
  15. last — to go on
  16. stock — shares
  17. craft — boats
  18. last — final
  19. court — of a king
  20. bound — tied together
  21. bound — certain
  22. toast — a drink to someone
  23. last — finally
  24. pitch — completely

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