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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. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  2. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  3. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  4. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  5. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  6. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  7. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  8. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  9. The ________________ market has crashed.
  10. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  11. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  12. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  13. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  14. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  15. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  16. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  17. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  18. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  19. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  20. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  21. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  22. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  23. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  24. I don't want to ________________ the boat.

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

Answer key

  1. craft — a handicraft
  2. staff — a stick
  3. straw — a straw man
  4. craft — boats
  5. staff — employees
  6. straw — to clutch at straws
  7. degree — from a university
  8. straw — dry grass
  9. stock — shares
  10. degree — temperature
  11. hand — in cards
  12. stock — goods
  13. hand — part of the body
  14. pitch — a sales talk
  15. craft — a skill
  16. staff — employees
  17. pitch — a sports field
  18. rock — a stone
  19. pitch — completely
  20. hand — help
  21. rock — music
  22. stock — a soup base
  23. degree — an amount
  24. rock — to move gently

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