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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.

Words on the sheet
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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: date · chair · band · stock · craft · bark · fall · land

  1. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  2. The ________________ market has crashed.
  3. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  4. When are we going to ________________?
  5. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  6. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  7. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  8. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  9. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  10. Have you settled on a ________________?
  11. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  12. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  13. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  14. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  15. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  16. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  17. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  18. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  19. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  20. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  21. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  22. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  23. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  24. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.

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

Answer key

  1. date — on the calendar
  2. stock — shares
  3. chair — a professorship
  4. land — to come down
  5. chair — to sit on
  6. craft — a skill
  7. craft — a handicraft
  8. fall — to drop
  9. land — a country
  10. date — on the calendar
  11. chair — a leader
  12. band — a music group
  13. bark — a dog's sound
  14. land — ground
  15. craft — boats
  16. bark — of a tree
  17. band — a ring
  18. fall — the season
  19. bark — to shout
  20. band — a rubber band
  21. stock — goods
  22. fall — to drop
  23. stock — a soup base
  24. date — the fruit

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