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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. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  2. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  3. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  4. The ball is in your ________________.
  5. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  6. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  7. There's no middle ________________.
  8. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  9. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  10. The ________________ went through the wall.
  11. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  12. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  13. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  14. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  15. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  16. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  17. The ________________ market has crashed.
  18. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  19. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  20. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  21. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  22. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  23. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  24. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.

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

Answer key

  1. ground — crushed
  2. craft — a skill
  3. shower — rain
  4. court — for sport
  5. court — of law
  6. mine — an explosive
  7. ground — a position
  8. nail — for a hammer
  9. court — of a king
  10. nail — for a hammer
  11. stock — a soup base
  12. pit — a fruit stone
  13. nail — on a finger
  14. craft — a handicraft
  15. shower — a meteor shower
  16. mine — belonging to me
  17. stock — shares
  18. ground — the earth
  19. stock — goods
  20. shower — to wash
  21. pit — a hole
  22. craft — boats
  23. mine — for digging
  24. pit — in a race

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