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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 116 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. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  2. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  3. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  4. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  5. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  6. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  7. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  8. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  9. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  10. My mare is ________________ in color.
  11. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  12. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  13. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  14. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  15. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  16. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  17. The ________________ market has crashed.
  18. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  19. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  20. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  21. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  22. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  23. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  24. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.

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

Answer key

  1. hide — to keep secret
  2. wind — moving air
  3. craft — boats
  4. hand — part of the body
  5. content — happy
  6. bay — a part of the sea
  7. wind — moving air
  8. hand — help
  9. bay — to keep at bay
  10. bay — a horse colour
  11. content — videos and posts
  12. wind — to turn a key
  13. hand — in cards
  14. hide — animal skin
  15. bat — for baseball
  16. bat — in an idiom
  17. stock — shares
  18. craft — a handicraft
  19. stock — goods
  20. hide — to keep secret
  21. content — the amount
  22. stock — a soup base
  23. bat — the animal
  24. craft — a skill

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