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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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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  2. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  3. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  4. The ________________ market has crashed.
  5. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  6. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  7. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  8. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  9. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  10. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  11. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  12. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  13. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  14. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  15. That was ________________ to happen.
  16. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  17. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  18. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  19. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  20. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  21. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  22. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  23. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  24. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.

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

Answer key

  1. mine — for digging
  2. file — a line of people
  3. leaves — of a tree
  4. stock — shares
  5. bound — tied together
  6. hand — help
  7. bound — obliged
  8. craft — a skill
  9. bass — the fish
  10. file — a document
  11. craft — a handicraft
  12. stock — a soup base
  13. bass — the instrument
  14. leaves — to go away
  15. bound — certain
  16. hand — in cards
  17. stock — goods
  18. mine — belonging to me
  19. hand — part of the body
  20. file — a tool
  21. craft — boats
  22. leaves — lets stay
  23. mine — an explosive
  24. bass — low music

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