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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. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  2. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  3. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  4. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  5. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  6. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  7. The ________________ market has crashed.
  8. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  9. He was locked up in a ________________.
  10. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  11. What do you think of the new ________________?
  12. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  13. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  14. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  15. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  16. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  17. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  18. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  19. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  20. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  21. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  22. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  23. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  24. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.

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

Answer key

  1. spring — the season
  2. cell — in biology
  3. spring — a coil
  4. cell — a phone
  5. stock — a soup base
  6. racket — for tennis
  7. stock — shares
  8. racket — for tennis
  9. cell — in a prison
  10. spring — of water
  11. cabinet — ministers
  12. deal — to handle
  13. deal — a big deal
  14. craft — boats
  15. stock — goods
  16. file — a document
  17. file — a line of people
  18. file — a tool
  19. deal — an agreement
  20. racket — a loud noise
  21. craft — a skill
  22. cabinet — a cupboard
  23. craft — a handicraft
  24. cabinet — ministers

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