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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. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  2. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  3. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  4. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  5. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  6. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  7. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  8. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  9. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  10. The ________________ market has crashed.
  11. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  12. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  13. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  14. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  15. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  16. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  17. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  18. Did you ________________ the meat?
  19. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  20. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  21. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  22. David sat on the ________________.
  23. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  24. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. row — a quarrel
  2. craft — a skill
  3. row — a line
  4. capital — a big letter
  5. mouse — the animal
  6. stock — goods
  7. stock — a soup base
  8. craft — a handicraft
  9. hand — part of the body
  10. stock — shares
  11. mouse — the animal
  12. swing — music
  13. mouse — for a computer
  14. capital — a city
  15. hand — in cards
  16. capital — money
  17. row — to paddle
  18. season — to add flavour
  19. hand — help
  20. swing — in golf
  21. season — of the year
  22. swing — to play on
  23. craft — boats
  24. season — in sport

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