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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. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  2. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  3. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  4. What do you think of the new ________________?
  5. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  6. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  7. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  8. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  9. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  10. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  11. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  12. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  13. That was ________________ to happen.
  14. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  15. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  16. The ________________ market has crashed.
  17. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  18. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  19. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  20. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  21. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  22. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  23. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  24. What was your ________________ profit last year?

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

Answer key

  1. craft — a skill
  2. bound — tied together
  3. cabinet — a cupboard
  4. cabinet — ministers
  5. stick — a piece of wood
  6. stock — goods
  7. spring — of water
  8. wound — an injury
  9. spring — the season
  10. cabinet — ministers
  11. craft — boats
  12. stock — a soup base
  13. bound — certain
  14. craft — a handicraft
  15. bound — obliged
  16. stock — shares
  17. stick — to attach or keep to
  18. wound — past of 'wind'
  19. net — for catching
  20. stick — a piece of wood
  21. wound — an injury
  22. spring — a coil
  23. net — in sport
  24. net — after costs

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