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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: stock · hand · leaves · craft · bore · pit · wake · content

  1. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  2. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  3. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  4. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  5. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  6. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  7. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  8. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  9. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  10. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  11. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  12. The ________________ market has crashed.
  13. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  14. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  15. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  16. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  17. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  18. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  19. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  20. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  21. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  22. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  23. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  24. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.

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

Answer key

  1. content — the amount
  2. content — happy
  3. craft — a skill
  4. wake — to stop sleeping
  5. pit — a fruit stone
  6. pit — a hole
  7. content — videos and posts
  8. stock — goods
  9. bore — gave birth
  10. bore — to tire
  11. craft — a handicraft
  12. stock — shares
  13. leaves — of a tree
  14. hand — part of the body
  15. wake — a trail
  16. stock — a soup base
  17. leaves — to go away
  18. wake — before a funeral
  19. leaves — lets stay
  20. pit — in a race
  21. bore — to drill
  22. hand — help
  23. hand — in cards
  24. craft — boats

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