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

Word bank: straw · prune · kid · cell · object · club · stock · craft

  1. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  2. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  3. He was locked up in a ________________.
  4. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  5. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  6. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  7. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  8. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  9. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  10. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  11. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  12. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  13. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  14. The ________________ market has crashed.
  15. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  16. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  17. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  18. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  19. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  20. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  21. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  22. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  23. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  24. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. stock — a soup base
  2. object — an aim
  3. cell — in a prison
  4. object — a thing
  5. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  6. cell — a phone
  7. prune — the fruit
  8. straw — dry grass
  9. club — for dancing
  10. object — to protest
  11. craft — boats
  12. club — for golf
  13. prune — to trim
  14. stock — shares
  15. craft — a handicraft
  16. stock — goods
  17. prune — to trim
  18. craft — a skill
  19. club — a group
  20. straw — a straw man
  21. straw — to clutch at straws
  22. cell — in biology
  23. kid — to tease
  24. kid — child

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