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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 120 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: craft · cold · dip · stock · mate · bear · bank · wind

  1. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  2. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  3. Have you found your soul ________________?
  4. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  5. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  6. The ________________ market has crashed.
  7. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  8. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  9. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  10. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  11. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  12. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  13. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  14. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  15. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  16. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  17. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  18. The water is too ________________.
  19. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  20. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  21. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  22. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  23. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  24. A black ________________ roamed the forest.

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

Answer key

  1. craft — boats
  2. bank — for money
  3. mate — a partner
  4. bank — for money
  5. stock — a soup base
  6. stock — shares
  7. stock — goods
  8. craft — a skill
  9. bear — the animal
  10. dip — to sink
  11. mate — to breed
  12. wind — moving air
  13. craft — a handicraft
  14. wind — to turn a key
  15. wind — moving air
  16. cold — an illness
  17. mate — a friend
  18. cold — not warm
  19. bank — of a river
  20. cold — the Cold War
  21. bear — to put up with
  22. dip — a sauce
  23. dip — to dunk
  24. bear — the animal

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