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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. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  2. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  3. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  4. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  5. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  6. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  7. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  8. Don't do anything ________________.
  9. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  10. The ________________ market has crashed.
  11. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  12. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  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. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  16. The King held a masked ________________.
  17. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  18. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  19. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  20. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  21. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  22. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  23. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  24. Do you need a ________________ with that?

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

Answer key

  1. stock — a soup base
  2. fine — high quality
  3. mine — for digging
  4. hand — part of the body
  5. fine — a penalty
  6. craft — boats
  7. hand — in cards
  8. rash — hasty
  9. ball — a great time
  10. stock — shares
  11. stock — goods
  12. fine — all right
  13. mine — belonging to me
  14. wind — moving air
  15. mine — an explosive
  16. ball — a dance
  17. wind — moving air
  18. rash — on the skin
  19. craft — a handicraft
  20. wind — to turn a key
  21. ball — a round shape
  22. rash — a series
  23. craft — a skill
  24. hand — help

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