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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: game · pass · tear · scale · stock · coach · prune · craft

  1. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  2. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  3. The ________________ market has crashed.
  4. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  5. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  6. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  7. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  8. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  9. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  10. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  11. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  12. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  13. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  14. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  15. That was a fun ________________.
  16. Have you met the new head ________________?
  17. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  18. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  19. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  20. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  21. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  22. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  23. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  24. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.

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

Answer key

  1. coach — a trainer
  2. pass — a permit
  3. stock — shares
  4. coach — pulled by horses
  5. craft — a handicraft
  6. stock — a soup base
  7. pass — to succeed
  8. prune — to trim
  9. craft — a skill
  10. tear — from crying
  11. prune — to trim
  12. scale — size or range
  13. game — wild animals
  14. game — a kind of play
  15. game — a match
  16. coach — a trainer
  17. prune — the fruit
  18. stock — goods
  19. scale — for weighing
  20. scale — in music
  21. craft — boats
  22. tear — from crying
  23. tear — to rip
  24. pass — to spend time

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