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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 120 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. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  2. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  3. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  4. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  5. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  6. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  7. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  8. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  9. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  10. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  11. The ________________ market has crashed.
  12. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  13. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  14. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  15. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  16. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  17. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  18. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  19. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  20. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  21. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  22. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  23. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  24. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. craft — a handicraft
  2. craft — boats
  3. mine — for digging
  4. mine — an explosive
  5. wind — to turn a key
  6. hand — help
  7. stock — a soup base
  8. wind — moving air
  9. scale — for weighing
  10. pit — a fruit stone
  11. stock — shares
  12. pit — in a race
  13. mine — belonging to me
  14. wind — moving air
  15. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  16. stock — goods
  17. kid — child
  18. kid — to tease
  19. pit — a hole
  20. hand — part of the body
  21. hand — in cards
  22. scale — in music
  23. craft — a skill
  24. scale — size or range

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