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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. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  2. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  3. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  4. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  5. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  6. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  7. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  8. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  9. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  10. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  11. He is an ace ________________.
  12. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  13. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  14. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  15. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  16. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  17. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  18. The ________________ market has crashed.
  19. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  20. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  21. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  22. Where did you ________________ them?
  23. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  24. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.

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

Answer key

  1. craft — boats
  2. mug — a face
  3. tear — from crying
  4. mug — a cup
  5. net — after costs
  6. bat — for baseball
  7. net — for catching
  8. bat — in an idiom
  9. bat — the animal
  10. scale — in music
  11. pitcher — in baseball
  12. net — in sport
  13. tear — to rip
  14. tear — from crying
  15. scale — size or range
  16. pitcher — a jug
  17. craft — a skill
  18. stock — shares
  19. stock — a soup base
  20. stock — goods
  21. pitcher — a jug
  22. mug — to rob
  23. craft — a handicraft
  24. scale — for weighing

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