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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 120 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.

Words on the sheet
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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: hand · court · craft · key · stock · fall · last · cell

  1. The ________________ market has crashed.
  2. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  3. The ball is in your ________________.
  4. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  5. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  6. This piece is in a major ________________.
  7. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  8. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  9. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  10. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  11. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  12. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  13. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  14. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  15. False peace will not ________________.
  16. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  17. He was locked up in a ________________.
  18. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  19. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  20. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  21. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  22. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  23. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  24. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.

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

Answer key

  1. stock — shares
  2. stock — a soup base
  3. court — for sport
  4. craft — a handicraft
  5. court — of a king
  6. key — in music
  7. cell — in biology
  8. key — for a lock
  9. fall — to drop
  10. court — of law
  11. stock — goods
  12. fall — to drop
  13. last — finally
  14. hand — in cards
  15. last — to go on
  16. craft — a skill
  17. cell — in a prison
  18. key — the most important part
  19. last — final
  20. hand — part of the body
  21. craft — boats
  22. hand — help
  23. cell — a phone
  24. fall — the season

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