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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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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. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  2. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  3. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  4. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  5. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  6. When are we going to ________________?
  7. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  8. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  9. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  10. The ________________ market has crashed.
  11. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  12. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  13. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  14. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  15. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  16. Where did you ________________ them?
  17. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  18. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  19. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  20. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  21. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  22. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  23. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  24. He refilled his coffee ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. stock — goods
  2. mug — a face
  3. bat — for baseball
  4. craft — boats
  5. degree — temperature
  6. land — to come down
  7. cue — a signal
  8. row — to paddle
  9. craft — a handicraft
  10. stock — shares
  11. cue — a hint
  12. bat — the animal
  13. cue — for pool
  14. craft — a skill
  15. degree — from a university
  16. mug — to rob
  17. stock — a soup base
  18. row — a quarrel
  19. land — a country
  20. degree — an amount
  21. land — ground
  22. row — a line
  23. bat — in an idiom
  24. mug — a cup

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