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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 spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  2. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  3. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  4. We're almost out of ________________.
  5. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  6. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  7. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  8. You don't need to ________________ round.
  9. The ________________ market has crashed.
  10. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  11. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  12. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  13. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  14. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  15. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  16. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  17. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  18. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  19. Did you ________________ the button?
  20. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  21. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  22. The ball is in your ________________.
  23. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  24. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.

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

Answer key

  1. craft — a skill
  2. court — of a king
  3. field — for sport
  4. pop — soda
  5. field — a subject
  6. field — farmland
  7. lash — to lash out
  8. pop — to visit
  9. stock — shares
  10. press — newspapers
  11. pop — music
  12. press — a publisher
  13. craft — a handicraft
  14. stock — goods
  15. bat — for baseball
  16. stock — a soup base
  17. lash — an eyelash
  18. lash — a whip stroke
  19. press — to push
  20. bat — in an idiom
  21. court — of law
  22. court — for sport
  23. craft — boats
  24. bat — the animal

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