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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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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: cell · straw · craft · land · kid · fall · stock · racket

  1. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  2. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  3. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  4. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  5. When are we going to ________________?
  6. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  7. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  8. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  9. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  10. The ________________ market has crashed.
  11. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  12. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  13. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  14. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  15. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  16. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  17. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  18. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  19. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  20. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  21. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  22. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  23. He was locked up in a ________________.
  24. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. racket — for tennis
  2. fall — the season
  3. cell — in biology
  4. cell — a phone
  5. land — to come down
  6. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  7. kid — child
  8. fall — to drop
  9. craft — a handicraft
  10. stock — shares
  11. straw — dry grass
  12. stock — a soup base
  13. kid — to tease
  14. stock — goods
  15. craft — a skill
  16. straw — a straw man
  17. racket — a loud noise
  18. racket — for tennis
  19. straw — to clutch at straws
  20. fall — to drop
  21. craft — boats
  22. land — a country
  23. cell — in a prison
  24. land — ground

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