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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. My mare is ________________ in color.
  2. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  3. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  4. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  5. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  6. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  7. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  8. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  9. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  10. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  11. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  12. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  13. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  14. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  15. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  16. The ________________ market has crashed.
  17. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  18. I'll be taking the ________________.
  19. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  20. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  21. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  22. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  23. The ________________ went through the wall.
  24. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.

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

Answer key

  1. bay — a horse colour
  2. nail — for a hammer
  3. net — after costs
  4. stock — goods
  5. craft — a skill
  6. bay — a part of the sea
  7. degree — temperature
  8. net — for catching
  9. nail — on a finger
  10. craft — a handicraft
  11. degree — an amount
  12. stock — a soup base
  13. tube — a container
  14. craft — boats
  15. wake — before a funeral
  16. stock — shares
  17. bay — to keep at bay
  18. tube — the underground
  19. degree — from a university
  20. net — in sport
  21. wake — to stop sleeping
  22. wake — a trail
  23. nail — for a hammer
  24. tube — in a tire

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