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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. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  2. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  3. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  4. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  5. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  6. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  7. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  8. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  9. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  10. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  11. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  12. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  13. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  14. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  15. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  16. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  17. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  18. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  19. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  20. The ________________ market has crashed.
  21. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  22. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  23. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  24. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.

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

Answer key

  1. racket — a loud noise
  2. wake — before a funeral
  3. squash — the sport
  4. pound — for dogs
  5. craft — a skill
  6. stock — a soup base
  7. craft — a handicraft
  8. wake — to stop sleeping
  9. kid — child
  10. squash — to crush
  11. craft — boats
  12. kid — to tease
  13. squash — the vegetable
  14. pound — a weight
  15. wind — moving air
  16. racket — for tennis
  17. racket — for tennis
  18. pound — to hit hard
  19. wind — moving air
  20. stock — shares
  21. stock — goods
  22. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  23. wake — a trail
  24. wind — to turn a key

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