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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.

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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: stock · wound · craft · wind · shower · temple · racket · snap

  1. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  2. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  3. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  4. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  5. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  6. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  7. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  8. The ________________ market has crashed.
  9. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  10. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  11. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  12. When was this ________________ built?
  13. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  14. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  15. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  16. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  17. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  18. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  19. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  20. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  21. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  22. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  23. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  24. We ________________ up on opposing sides.

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

Answer key

  1. racket — a loud noise
  2. racket — for tennis
  3. temple — side of the head
  4. shower — to wash
  5. stock — goods
  6. craft — a handicraft
  7. snap — to speak sharply
  8. stock — shares
  9. temple — a place of worship
  10. wind — to turn a key
  11. shower — a meteor shower
  12. temple — a place of worship
  13. wind — moving air
  14. racket — for tennis
  15. snap — to snap out of it
  16. craft — a skill
  17. craft — boats
  18. stock — a soup base
  19. shower — rain
  20. wind — moving air
  21. wound — an injury
  22. snap — to click
  23. wound — an injury
  24. wound — past of 'wind'

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