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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. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  2. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  3. He is an ace ________________.
  4. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  5. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  6. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  7. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  8. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  9. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  10. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  11. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  12. Have you found your soul ________________?
  13. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  14. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  15. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  16. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  17. The ________________ market has crashed.
  18. My father caught me by the ________________.
  19. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  20. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  21. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  22. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  23. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  24. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?

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

Answer key

  1. pitcher — a jug
  2. spring — of water
  3. pitcher — in baseball
  4. stock — a soup base
  5. craft — boats
  6. kid — child
  7. foot — part of the body
  8. craft — a handicraft
  9. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  10. foot — a measure
  11. spring — the season
  12. mate — a partner
  13. arm — a part of something
  14. mate — to breed
  15. craft — a skill
  16. spring — a coil
  17. stock — shares
  18. arm — part of the body
  19. foot — the bottom
  20. kid — to tease
  21. pitcher — a jug
  22. stock — goods
  23. arm — part of the body
  24. mate — a friend

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