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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 116 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 spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  2. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  3. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  4. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  5. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  6. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  7. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  8. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  9. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  10. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  11. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  12. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  13. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  14. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  15. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  16. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  17. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  18. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  19. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  20. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  21. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  22. The ________________ market has crashed.
  23. Did you ________________ the button?
  24. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.

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

Answer key

  1. craft — a skill
  2. stock — a soup base
  3. firm — a company
  4. fall — the season
  5. wind — to turn a key
  6. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  7. kid — child
  8. content — happy
  9. firm — decided
  10. firm — steady
  11. fall — to drop
  12. kid — to tease
  13. stock — goods
  14. press — a publisher
  15. content — the amount
  16. fall — to drop
  17. content — videos and posts
  18. wind — moving air
  19. press — newspapers
  20. wind — moving air
  21. craft — a handicraft
  22. stock — shares
  23. press — to push
  24. craft — boats

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