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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 116 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. When are we going to ________________?
  2. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  3. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  4. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  5. Have you found your soul ________________?
  6. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  7. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  8. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  9. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  10. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  11. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  12. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  13. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  14. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  15. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  16. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  17. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  18. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  19. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  20. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  21. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  22. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  23. The water is too ________________.
  24. The ________________ market has crashed.

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

Answer key

  1. land — to come down
  2. craft — a skill
  3. bat — in an idiom
  4. land — ground
  5. mate — a partner
  6. mate — to breed
  7. stock — a soup base
  8. pit — a hole
  9. land — a country
  10. bat — the animal
  11. craft — a handicraft
  12. bass — the fish
  13. cold — the Cold War
  14. bass — low music
  15. pit — in a race
  16. mate — a friend
  17. bass — the instrument
  18. cold — an illness
  19. stock — goods
  20. pit — a fruit stone
  21. bat — for baseball
  22. craft — boats
  23. cold — not warm
  24. stock — shares

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