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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. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  2. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  3. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  4. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  5. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  6. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  7. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  8. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  9. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  10. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  11. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  12. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  13. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  14. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  15. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  16. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  17. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  18. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  19. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  20. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  21. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  22. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  23. The ________________ market has crashed.
  24. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.

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

Answer key

  1. craft — boats
  2. bat — the animal
  3. hand — part of the body
  4. net — in sport
  5. mouse — the animal
  6. mouse — for a computer
  7. mouse — the animal
  8. chip — in a computer
  9. net — after costs
  10. stock — goods
  11. craft — a skill
  12. deal — an agreement
  13. chip — for betting
  14. net — for catching
  15. bat — in an idiom
  16. hand — in cards
  17. deal — to handle
  18. hand — help
  19. deal — a big deal
  20. craft — a handicraft
  21. stock — a soup base
  22. bat — for baseball
  23. stock — shares
  24. chip — to eat

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