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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. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  2. What do you think of the new ________________?
  3. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  4. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  5. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  6. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  7. The ________________ market has crashed.
  8. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  9. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  10. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  11. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  12. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  13. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  14. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  15. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  16. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  17. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  18. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  19. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  20. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  21. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  22. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  23. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  24. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.

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

Answer key

  1. craft — a skill
  2. cabinet — ministers
  3. fall — to drop
  4. file — a tool
  5. hand — part of the body
  6. craft — boats
  7. stock — shares
  8. cabinet — a cupboard
  9. branch — a division
  10. hand — help
  11. stock — a soup base
  12. stock — goods
  13. file — a line of people
  14. fall — to drop
  15. cue — a hint
  16. hand — in cards
  17. cue — a signal
  18. cue — for pool
  19. file — a document
  20. branch — of a bank
  21. craft — a handicraft
  22. cabinet — ministers
  23. fall — the season
  24. branch — of a tree

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