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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. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  2. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  3. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  4. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  5. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  6. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  7. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  8. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  9. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  10. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  11. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  12. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  13. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  14. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  15. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  16. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  17. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  18. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  19. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  20. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  21. The ________________ market has crashed.
  22. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  23. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  24. I'd like to play a game of ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. staff — employees
  2. staff — employees
  3. craft — a skill
  4. craft — a handicraft
  5. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  6. trunk — of an elephant
  7. staff — a stick
  8. trunk — of a car
  9. squash — the vegetable
  10. stock — a soup base
  11. capital — a big letter
  12. craft — boats
  13. trunk — of a tree
  14. kid — child
  15. bear — the animal
  16. stock — goods
  17. squash — to crush
  18. bear — to put up with
  19. kid — to tease
  20. capital — a city
  21. stock — shares
  22. bear — the animal
  23. capital — money
  24. squash — the sport

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