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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. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  2. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  3. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  4. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  5. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  6. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  7. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  8. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  9. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  10. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  11. The ________________ went through the wall.
  12. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  13. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  14. The ________________ market has crashed.
  15. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  16. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  17. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  18. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  19. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  20. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  21. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  22. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  23. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  24. The water is too ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. nail — on a finger
  2. craft — a skill
  3. tear — from crying
  4. lean — to bend
  5. craft — boats
  6. lean — thin
  7. cue — a hint
  8. stock — a soup base
  9. stock — goods
  10. craft — a handicraft
  11. nail — for a hammer
  12. lean — to rest against
  13. cold — the Cold War
  14. stock — shares
  15. hand — help
  16. hand — part of the body
  17. tear — from crying
  18. tear — to rip
  19. cold — an illness
  20. cue — a signal
  21. nail — for a hammer
  22. hand — in cards
  23. cue — for pool
  24. cold — not warm

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