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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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Word bank
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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: mine · stock · craft · snap · ball · face · branch · cue

  1. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  2. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  3. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  4. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  5. The ________________ market has crashed.
  6. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  7. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  8. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  9. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  10. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  11. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  12. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  13. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  14. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  15. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  16. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  17. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  18. The King held a masked ________________.
  19. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  20. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  21. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  22. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  23. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  24. The kitten curled into a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. craft — boats
  2. face — to confront
  3. ball — a great time
  4. mine — for digging
  5. stock — shares
  6. snap — to click
  7. snap — to snap out of it
  8. craft — a handicraft
  9. mine — an explosive
  10. branch — of a bank
  11. mine — belonging to me
  12. face — part of the head
  13. branch — of a tree
  14. craft — a skill
  15. snap — to speak sharply
  16. branch — a division
  17. cue — a signal
  18. ball — a dance
  19. face — to point toward
  20. stock — a soup base
  21. cue — for pool
  22. cue — a hint
  23. stock — goods
  24. ball — a round shape

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