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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: craft · stock · track · bat · fine · mark · hand · clip

  1. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  2. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  3. The ________________ market has crashed.
  4. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  5. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  6. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  7. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  8. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  9. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  10. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  11. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  12. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  13. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  14. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  15. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  16. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  17. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  18. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  19. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  20. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  21. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  22. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  23. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  24. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. mark — a trace
  2. clip — for paper
  3. stock — shares
  4. clip — to cut
  5. stock — a soup base
  6. hand — part of the body
  7. mark — a grade
  8. stock — goods
  9. hand — help
  10. fine — all right
  11. craft — a skill
  12. fine — a penalty
  13. craft — a handicraft
  14. track — to keep track
  15. bat — in an idiom
  16. track — a path
  17. track — a song
  18. hand — in cards
  19. mark — to pay attention
  20. fine — high quality
  21. bat — the animal
  22. craft — boats
  23. bat — for baseball
  24. clip — a video

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