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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: racket · bear · cue · hand · land · degree · craft · stock

  1. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  2. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  3. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  4. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  5. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  6. When are we going to ________________?
  7. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  8. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  9. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  10. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  11. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  12. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  13. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  14. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  15. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  16. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  17. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  18. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  19. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  20. The ________________ market has crashed.
  21. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  22. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  23. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  24. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.

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

Answer key

  1. stock — a soup base
  2. degree — from a university
  3. racket — for tennis
  4. cue — a hint
  5. cue — a signal
  6. land — to come down
  7. craft — a skill
  8. bear — to put up with
  9. bear — the animal
  10. hand — part of the body
  11. land — ground
  12. land — a country
  13. hand — help
  14. bear — the animal
  15. hand — in cards
  16. cue — for pool
  17. craft — a handicraft
  18. racket — a loud noise
  19. craft — boats
  20. stock — shares
  21. degree — an amount
  22. racket — for tennis
  23. stock — goods
  24. degree — temperature

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