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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: tear · bay · stock · cell · date · field · key · craft

  1. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  2. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  3. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  4. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  5. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  6. This piece is in a major ________________.
  7. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  8. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  9. Have you settled on a ________________?
  10. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  11. The ________________ market has crashed.
  12. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  13. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  14. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  15. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  16. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  17. He was locked up in a ________________.
  18. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  19. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  20. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  21. My mare is ________________ in color.
  22. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  23. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  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. bay — to keep at bay
  2. tear — to rip
  3. tear — from crying
  4. field — a subject
  5. craft — a handicraft
  6. key — in music
  7. bay — a part of the sea
  8. cell — a phone
  9. date — on the calendar
  10. stock — a soup base
  11. stock — shares
  12. craft — a skill
  13. tear — from crying
  14. key — the most important part
  15. craft — boats
  16. field — for sport
  17. cell — in a prison
  18. field — farmland
  19. date — the fruit
  20. cell — in biology
  21. bay — a horse colour
  22. stock — goods
  23. key — for a lock
  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