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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. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  2. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  3. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  4. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  5. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  6. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  7. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  8. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  9. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  10. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  11. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  12. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  13. The ________________ market has crashed.
  14. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  15. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  16. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  17. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  18. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  19. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  20. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  21. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  22. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  23. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  24. The ________________ went through the wall.

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

Answer key

  1. stock — a soup base
  2. craft — a handicraft
  3. hand — part of the body
  4. craft — a skill
  5. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  6. stock — goods
  7. straw — to clutch at straws
  8. hand — in cards
  9. scale — size or range
  10. hand — help
  11. nail — on a finger
  12. craft — boats
  13. stock — shares
  14. straw — a straw man
  15. kid — child
  16. bass — the instrument
  17. bass — low music
  18. bass — the fish
  19. straw — dry grass
  20. kid — to tease
  21. scale — for weighing
  22. scale — in music
  23. nail — for a hammer
  24. nail — for a hammer

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