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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 · degree · bound · snap · row · present · hide · stock

  1. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  2. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  3. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  4. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  5. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  6. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  7. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  8. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  9. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  10. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  11. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  12. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  13. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  14. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  15. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  16. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  17. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  18. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  19. The ________________ market has crashed.
  20. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  21. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  22. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  23. That was ________________ to happen.
  24. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.

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

Answer key

  1. present — a gift
  2. craft — a handicraft
  3. row — a quarrel
  4. degree — from a university
  5. present — the time now
  6. stock — goods
  7. hide — animal skin
  8. craft — boats
  9. bound — obliged
  10. craft — a skill
  11. hide — to keep secret
  12. snap — to snap out of it
  13. row — a line
  14. degree — temperature
  15. hide — to keep secret
  16. present — there
  17. degree — an amount
  18. stock — a soup base
  19. stock — shares
  20. bound — tied together
  21. row — to paddle
  22. snap — to speak sharply
  23. bound — certain
  24. snap — to click

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