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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. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  2. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  3. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  4. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  5. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  6. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  7. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  8. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  9. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  10. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  11. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  12. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  13. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  14. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  15. The ________________ market has crashed.
  16. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  17. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  18. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  19. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  20. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  21. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  22. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  23. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  24. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. hand — part of the body
  2. hand — in cards
  3. capital — money
  4. staff — a stick
  5. hand — help
  6. track — to keep track
  7. race — a contest
  8. craft — a handicraft
  9. bass — low music
  10. capital — a city
  11. craft — boats
  12. capital — a big letter
  13. staff — employees
  14. bass — the fish
  15. stock — shares
  16. craft — a skill
  17. race — humankind
  18. stock — a soup base
  19. stock — goods
  20. staff — employees
  21. bass — the instrument
  22. track — a song
  23. track — a path
  24. race — the arms 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