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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: craft · lie · shower · hand · stock · file · sharp · ball

  1. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  2. It's one o'clock ________________.
  3. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  4. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  5. The ________________ market has crashed.
  6. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  7. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  8. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  9. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  10. The King held a masked ________________.
  11. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  12. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  13. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  14. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  15. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  16. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  17. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  18. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  19. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  20. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  21. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  22. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  23. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  24. This knife is not ________________ enough.

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

Answer key

  1. shower — to wash
  2. sharp — exactly
  3. file — a tool
  4. hand — part of the body
  5. stock — shares
  6. craft — boats
  7. hand — in cards
  8. stock — a soup base
  9. sharp — clever
  10. ball — a dance
  11. lie — an untruth
  12. file — a line of people
  13. lie — an untruth
  14. stock — goods
  15. shower — rain
  16. file — a document
  17. craft — a handicraft
  18. shower — a meteor shower
  19. hand — help
  20. lie — to recline
  21. ball — a great time
  22. craft — a skill
  23. ball — a round shape
  24. sharp — with an edge

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

Make a worksheet (0 words)

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