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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 · last · perch · craft · hand · date · nail · field

  1. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  2. The ________________ market has crashed.
  3. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  4. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  5. The ________________ went through the wall.
  6. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  7. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  8. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  9. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  10. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  11. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  12. Have you settled on a ________________?
  13. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  14. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  15. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  16. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  17. False peace will not ________________.
  18. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  19. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  20. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  21. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  22. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  23. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  24. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. last — finally
  2. stock — shares
  3. stock — goods
  4. field — farmland
  5. nail — for a hammer
  6. hand — help
  7. date — the fruit
  8. perch — the fish
  9. field — a subject
  10. perch — for a bird
  11. craft — boats
  12. date — on the calendar
  13. field — for sport
  14. stock — a soup base
  15. hand — part of the body
  16. perch — for a bird
  17. last — to go on
  18. hand — in cards
  19. craft — a skill
  20. craft — a handicraft
  21. last — final
  22. nail — for a hammer
  23. nail — on a finger
  24. date — on the calendar

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