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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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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: club · craft · shower · pitcher · pass · wax · bat · stock

  1. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  2. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  3. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  4. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  5. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  6. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  7. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  8. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  9. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  10. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  11. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  12. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  13. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  14. The ________________ market has crashed.
  15. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  16. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  17. He is an ace ________________.
  18. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  19. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  20. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  21. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  22. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  23. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  24. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. craft — boats
  2. shower — rain
  3. bat — the animal
  4. craft — a handicraft
  5. wax — for sculpting
  6. pass — a permit
  7. pitcher — a jug
  8. stock — goods
  9. wax — to grow
  10. club — for golf
  11. pass — to spend time
  12. pitcher — a jug
  13. pass — to succeed
  14. stock — shares
  15. craft — a skill
  16. stock — a soup base
  17. pitcher — in baseball
  18. club — a group
  19. bat — in an idiom
  20. club — for dancing
  21. shower — to wash
  22. wax — in the ear
  23. bat — for baseball
  24. shower — a meteor shower

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