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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 supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  2. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  3. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  4. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  5. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  6. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  7. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  8. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  9. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  10. What do you think of the new ________________?
  11. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  12. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  13. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  14. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  15. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  16. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  17. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  18. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  19. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  20. The ________________ market has crashed.
  21. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  22. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  23. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  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. stock — goods
  2. pitch — completely
  3. bat — for baseball
  4. cabinet — ministers
  5. pitch — a sales talk
  6. cue — for pool
  7. bat — the animal
  8. cue — a signal
  9. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  10. cabinet — ministers
  11. kid — to tease
  12. cabinet — a cupboard
  13. kid — child
  14. craft — a skill
  15. cue — a hint
  16. wound — an injury
  17. wound — past of 'wind'
  18. craft — a handicraft
  19. wound — an injury
  20. stock — shares
  21. pitch — a sports field
  22. bat — in an idiom
  23. stock — a soup base
  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