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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.

Words on the sheet
468
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: craft · ball · content · wound · ground · stock · cell · file

  1. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  2. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  3. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  4. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  5. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  6. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  7. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  8. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  9. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  10. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  11. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  12. There's no middle ________________.
  13. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  14. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  15. The King held a masked ________________.
  16. The ________________ market has crashed.
  17. He was locked up in a ________________.
  18. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  19. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  20. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  21. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  22. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  23. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  24. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.

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

Answer key

  1. craft — a skill
  2. file — a line of people
  3. craft — boats
  4. stock — a soup base
  5. stock — goods
  6. file — a tool
  7. ground — the earth
  8. wound — an injury
  9. content — happy
  10. file — a document
  11. wound — an injury
  12. ground — a position
  13. ground — crushed
  14. content — videos and posts
  15. ball — a dance
  16. stock — shares
  17. cell — in a prison
  18. ball — a round shape
  19. ball — a great time
  20. wound — past of 'wind'
  21. content — the amount
  22. cell — a phone
  23. craft — a handicraft
  24. cell — in biology

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