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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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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: dip · craft · stock · safe · field · land · court · snap

  1. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  2. The ball is in your ________________.
  3. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  4. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  5. When are we going to ________________?
  6. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  7. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  8. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  9. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  10. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  11. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  12. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  13. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  14. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  15. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  16. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  17. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  18. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  19. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  20. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  21. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  22. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  23. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  24. The ________________ market has crashed.

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

Answer key

  1. craft — boats
  2. court — for sport
  3. craft — a handicraft
  4. safe — a strongbox
  5. land — to come down
  6. dip — to sink
  7. land — ground
  8. snap — to snap out of it
  9. snap — to click
  10. field — for sport
  11. snap — to speak sharply
  12. court — of law
  13. dip — to dunk
  14. craft — a skill
  15. court — of a king
  16. safe — out of danger
  17. safe — out of danger
  18. field — farmland
  19. dip — a sauce
  20. stock — goods
  21. field — a subject
  22. stock — a soup base
  23. land — a country
  24. stock — shares

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