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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.

Words on the sheet
468
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 · chest · game · pit · cell · coach · stock · spring

  1. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  2. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  3. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  4. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  5. He was locked up in a ________________.
  6. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  7. The ________________ market has crashed.
  8. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  9. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  10. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  11. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  12. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  13. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  14. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  15. Have you met the new head ________________?
  16. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  17. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  18. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  19. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  20. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  21. That was a fun ________________.
  22. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  23. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  24. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.

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

Answer key

  1. spring — of water
  2. chest — a box
  3. game — a kind of play
  4. stock — goods
  5. cell — in a prison
  6. coach — pulled by horses
  7. stock — shares
  8. spring — the season
  9. craft — boats
  10. game — wild animals
  11. pit — a hole
  12. chest — of your body
  13. pit — a fruit stone
  14. stock — a soup base
  15. coach — a trainer
  16. spring — a coil
  17. pit — in a race
  18. chest — of your body
  19. cell — in biology
  20. craft — a skill
  21. game — a match
  22. cell — a phone
  23. craft — a handicraft
  24. coach — a trainer

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