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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: fan · stock · craft · chip · bark · wound · land · bound

  1. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  2. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  3. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  4. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  5. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  6. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  7. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  8. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  9. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  10. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  11. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  12. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  13. When are we going to ________________?
  14. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  15. The ________________ market has crashed.
  16. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  17. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  18. That was ________________ to happen.
  19. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  20. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  21. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  22. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  23. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  24. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. fan — a supporter
  2. craft — a skill
  3. wound — an injury
  4. fan — a supporter
  5. stock — goods
  6. chip — for betting
  7. bound — tied together
  8. craft — boats
  9. chip — in a computer
  10. fan — to cool the air
  11. wound — an injury
  12. bark — a dog's sound
  13. land — to come down
  14. wound — past of 'wind'
  15. stock — shares
  16. land — ground
  17. craft — a handicraft
  18. bound — certain
  19. bound — obliged
  20. land — a country
  21. bark — to shout
  22. stock — a soup base
  23. chip — to eat
  24. bark — of a tree

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