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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. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  2. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  3. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  4. The ________________ market has crashed.
  5. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  6. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  7. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  8. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  9. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  10. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  11. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  12. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  13. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  14. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  15. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  16. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  17. What do you think of the new ________________?
  18. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  19. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  20. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  21. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  22. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  23. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  24. He is an ace ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. hand — help
  2. net — after costs
  3. mouse — for a computer
  4. stock — shares
  5. pitcher — a jug
  6. cabinet — a cupboard
  7. craft — boats
  8. net — for catching
  9. mouse — the animal
  10. craft — a handicraft
  11. stock — a soup base
  12. craft — a skill
  13. lean — thin
  14. hand — part of the body
  15. lean — to bend
  16. mouse — the animal
  17. cabinet — ministers
  18. pitcher — a jug
  19. cabinet — ministers
  20. stock — goods
  21. lean — to rest against
  22. net — in sport
  23. hand — in cards
  24. pitcher — in baseball

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