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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. My father caught me by the ________________.
  2. The ________________ market has crashed.
  3. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  4. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  5. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  6. He was locked up in a ________________.
  7. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  8. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  9. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  10. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  11. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  12. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  13. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  14. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  15. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  16. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  17. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  18. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  19. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  20. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  21. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  22. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  23. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  24. The polar ice ________________ is melting.

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

Answer key

  1. arm — part of the body
  2. stock — shares
  3. bat — the animal
  4. spring — the season
  5. spring — a coil
  6. cell — in a prison
  7. arm — a part of something
  8. stick — to attach or keep to
  9. cap — a lid
  10. cap — a hat
  11. craft — boats
  12. stick — a piece of wood
  13. cell — a phone
  14. craft — a handicraft
  15. stick — a piece of wood
  16. stock — goods
  17. stock — a soup base
  18. bat — in an idiom
  19. spring — of water
  20. arm — part of the body
  21. cell — in biology
  22. craft — a skill
  23. bat — for baseball
  24. cap — of ice

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