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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 116 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: wake · rush · cold · stock · wound · craft · spring · mug

  1. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  2. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  3. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  4. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  5. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  6. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  7. The water is too ________________.
  8. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  9. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  10. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  11. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  12. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  13. Where did you ________________ them?
  14. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  15. The ________________ market has crashed.
  16. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  17. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  18. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  19. That must've been a ________________.
  20. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  21. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  22. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  23. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  24. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.

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

Answer key

  1. craft — boats
  2. cold — the Cold War
  3. wake — before a funeral
  4. craft — a handicraft
  5. stock — a soup base
  6. spring — a coil
  7. cold — not warm
  8. wound — past of 'wind'
  9. mug — a face
  10. rush — hurry
  11. cold — an illness
  12. wound — an injury
  13. mug — to rob
  14. wake — to stop sleeping
  15. stock — shares
  16. spring — of water
  17. mug — a cup
  18. spring — the season
  19. rush — a thrill
  20. craft — a skill
  21. wound — an injury
  22. rush — to hurry
  23. wake — a trail
  24. stock — goods

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