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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. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  2. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  3. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  4. The King held a masked ________________.
  5. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  6. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  7. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  8. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  9. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  10. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  11. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  12. He is an ace ________________.
  13. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  14. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  15. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  16. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  17. The ________________ market has crashed.
  18. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  19. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  20. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  21. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  22. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  23. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  24. What's the difference between broth and ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. ball — a round shape
  2. kid — to tease
  3. pitcher — a jug
  4. ball — a dance
  5. craft — a skill
  6. kid — child
  7. stock — goods
  8. ball — a great time
  9. band — a ring
  10. race — a contest
  11. race — humankind
  12. pitcher — in baseball
  13. craft — boats
  14. bat — the animal
  15. bat — in an idiom
  16. race — the arms race
  17. stock — shares
  18. craft — a handicraft
  19. band — a music group
  20. band — a rubber band
  21. pitcher — a jug
  22. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  23. bat — for baseball
  24. stock — a soup base

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