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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: kid · dip · bear · stock · craft · field · fall · clip

  1. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  2. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  3. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  4. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  5. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  6. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  7. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  8. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  9. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  10. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  11. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  12. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  13. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  14. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  15. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  16. The ________________ market has crashed.
  17. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  18. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  19. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  20. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  21. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  22. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  23. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  24. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.

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

Answer key

  1. fall — to drop
  2. field — a subject
  3. fall — the season
  4. craft — a skill
  5. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  6. stock — goods
  7. dip — to sink
  8. kid — child
  9. clip — to cut
  10. field — for sport
  11. field — farmland
  12. clip — for paper
  13. kid — to tease
  14. fall — to drop
  15. clip — a video
  16. stock — shares
  17. stock — a soup base
  18. dip — a sauce
  19. dip — to dunk
  20. bear — to put up with
  21. craft — a handicraft
  22. bear — the animal
  23. bear — the animal
  24. craft — boats

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