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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. The ________________ market has crashed.
  2. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  3. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  4. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  5. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  6. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  7. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  8. The ball is in your ________________.
  9. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  10. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  11. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  12. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  13. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  14. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  15. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  16. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  17. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  18. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  19. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  20. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  21. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  22. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  23. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  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. stock — shares
  2. rock — to move gently
  3. snap — to click
  4. stock — goods
  5. rock — music
  6. stock — a soup base
  7. leaves — lets stay
  8. court — for sport
  9. straw — dry grass
  10. straw — to clutch at straws
  11. court — of a king
  12. club — for golf
  13. leaves — to go away
  14. craft — a skill
  15. court — of law
  16. snap — to snap out of it
  17. rock — a stone
  18. straw — a straw man
  19. club — a group
  20. craft — boats
  21. craft — a handicraft
  22. club — for dancing
  23. leaves — of a tree
  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