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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. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  2. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  3. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  4. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  5. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  6. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  7. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  8. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  9. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  10. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  11. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  12. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  13. The ________________ market has crashed.
  14. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  15. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  16. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  17. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  18. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  19. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  20. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  21. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  22. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  23. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  24. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.

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

Answer key

  1. hide — to keep secret
  2. wound — an injury
  3. club — for golf
  4. chair — to sit on
  5. field — a subject
  6. chair — a leader
  7. stock — goods
  8. club — for dancing
  9. snap — to snap out of it
  10. craft — a skill
  11. field — farmland
  12. wound — past of 'wind'
  13. stock — shares
  14. snap — to click
  15. hide — animal skin
  16. craft — a handicraft
  17. wound — an injury
  18. field — for sport
  19. club — a group
  20. hide — to keep secret
  21. stock — a soup base
  22. chair — a professorship
  23. craft — boats
  24. snap — to speak sharply

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