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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. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  2. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  3. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  4. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  5. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  6. The ________________ market has crashed.
  7. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  8. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  9. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  10. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  11. There's no middle ________________.
  12. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  13. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  14. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  15. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  16. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  17. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  18. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  19. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  20. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  21. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  22. She's very handy with a ________________.
  23. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  24. He works in a ________________ mill.

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

Answer key

  1. net — for catching
  2. net — after costs
  3. craft — a skill
  4. fan — a supporter
  5. stock — a soup base
  6. stock — shares
  7. vault — in gymnastics
  8. kid — child
  9. craft — boats
  10. vault — an arched ceiling
  11. ground — a position
  12. ground — the earth
  13. fan — to cool the air
  14. craft — a handicraft
  15. net — in sport
  16. fan — a supporter
  17. vault — a safe
  18. ground — crushed
  19. kid — to tease
  20. stock — goods
  21. saw — past of 'see'
  22. saw — the tool
  23. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  24. saw — the tool

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