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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: court · wound · key · craft · cap · bat · wake · stock

  1. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  2. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  3. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  4. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  5. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  6. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  7. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  8. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  9. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  10. This piece is in a major ________________.
  11. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  12. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  13. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  14. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  15. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  16. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  17. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  18. The ________________ market has crashed.
  19. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  20. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  21. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  22. The ball is in your ________________.
  23. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  24. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.

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

Answer key

  1. bat — the animal
  2. wound — an injury
  3. cap — a hat
  4. stock — goods
  5. craft — boats
  6. court — of law
  7. wake — before a funeral
  8. cap — of ice
  9. key — the most important part
  10. key — in music
  11. wake — a trail
  12. wound — past of 'wind'
  13. cap — a lid
  14. craft — a handicraft
  15. wake — to stop sleeping
  16. bat — in an idiom
  17. stock — a soup base
  18. stock — shares
  19. court — of a king
  20. craft — a skill
  21. key — for a lock
  22. court — for sport
  23. bat — for baseball
  24. wound — an injury

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