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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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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: toast · chair · tear · bay · stick · craft · march · stock

  1. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  2. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  3. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  4. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  5. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  6. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  7. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  8. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  9. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  10. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  11. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  12. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  13. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  14. My mare is ________________ in color.
  15. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  16. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  17. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  18. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  19. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  20. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  21. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  22. The ________________ market has crashed.
  23. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  24. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. toast — bread
  2. stick — a piece of wood
  3. tear — to rip
  4. stock — a soup base
  5. chair — a leader
  6. toast — a drink to someone
  7. toast — the most admired
  8. craft — boats
  9. march — the month
  10. craft — a skill
  11. march — music
  12. stick — to attach or keep to
  13. bay — a part of the sea
  14. bay — a horse colour
  15. march — the month
  16. bay — to keep at bay
  17. chair — a professorship
  18. craft — a handicraft
  19. chair — to sit on
  20. tear — from crying
  21. stock — goods
  22. stock — shares
  23. tear — from crying
  24. stick — a piece of wood

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