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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. The ________________ market has crashed.
  2. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  3. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  4. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  5. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  6. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  7. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  8. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  9. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  10. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  11. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  12. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  13. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  14. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  15. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  16. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  17. That was a fun ________________.
  18. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  19. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  20. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  21. Have you found your soul ________________?
  22. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  23. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  24. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.

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

Answer key

  1. stock — shares
  2. current — electric
  3. craft — a handicraft
  4. craft — boats
  5. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  6. kid — to tease
  7. foot — the bottom
  8. game — a kind of play
  9. kid — child
  10. stock — a soup base
  11. foot — a measure
  12. current — of water
  13. craft — a skill
  14. foot — part of the body
  15. capital — a city
  16. mate — to breed
  17. game — a match
  18. current — happening now
  19. capital — money
  20. game — wild animals
  21. mate — a partner
  22. mate — a friend
  23. capital — a big letter
  24. stock — goods

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