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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. There's no middle ________________.
  2. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  3. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  4. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  5. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  6. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  7. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  8. The ________________ market has crashed.
  9. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  10. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  11. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  12. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  13. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  14. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  15. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  16. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  17. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  18. Did you ________________ the meat?
  19. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  20. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  21. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  22. He is an ace ________________.
  23. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  24. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. ground — a position
  2. craft — a skill
  3. ground — the earth
  4. bat — the animal
  5. stock — a soup base
  6. craft — a handicraft
  7. pitcher — a jug
  8. stock — shares
  9. craft — boats
  10. season — of the year
  11. degree — from a university
  12. ground — crushed
  13. scale — size or range
  14. stock — goods
  15. degree — an amount
  16. season — in sport
  17. pitcher — a jug
  18. season — to add flavour
  19. degree — temperature
  20. scale — for weighing
  21. bat — in an idiom
  22. pitcher — in baseball
  23. bat — for baseball
  24. scale — in 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