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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. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  2. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  3. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  4. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  5. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  6. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  7. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  8. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  9. Have you found your soul ________________?
  10. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  11. The ________________ market has crashed.
  12. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  13. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  14. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  15. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  16. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  17. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  18. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  19. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  20. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  21. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  22. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  23. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  24. I had a ________________ with my boss today.

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

Answer key

  1. craft — a skill
  2. craft — boats
  3. drill — army training
  4. mate — to breed
  5. vault — a safe
  6. stock — goods
  7. chest — a box
  8. drill — a practice
  9. mate — a partner
  10. bat — for baseball
  11. stock — shares
  12. stock — a soup base
  13. vault — an arched ceiling
  14. row — a line
  15. drill — the tool
  16. bat — in an idiom
  17. bat — the animal
  18. row — to paddle
  19. chest — of your body
  20. craft — a handicraft
  21. mate — a friend
  22. vault — in gymnastics
  23. chest — of your body
  24. row — a quarrel

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