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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: bat · stock · field · rash · content · craft · chair · ruler

  1. The ________________ market has crashed.
  2. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  3. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  4. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  5. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  6. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  7. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  8. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  9. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  10. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  11. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  12. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  13. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  14. Don't do anything ________________.
  15. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  16. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  17. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  18. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  19. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  20. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  21. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  22. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  23. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  24. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.

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

Answer key

  1. stock — shares
  2. rash — on the skin
  3. ruler — for measuring
  4. content — happy
  5. chair — a professorship
  6. field — for sport
  7. craft — boats
  8. craft — a handicraft
  9. stock — goods
  10. bat — for baseball
  11. content — the amount
  12. chair — a leader
  13. content — videos and posts
  14. rash — hasty
  15. chair — to sit on
  16. field — a subject
  17. ruler — for measuring
  18. craft — a skill
  19. bat — the animal
  20. stock — a soup base
  21. bat — in an idiom
  22. field — farmland
  23. ruler — a monarch
  24. rash — a series

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