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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: craft · stock · mark · pitcher · wake · chest · kid · staff

  1. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  2. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  3. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  4. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  5. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  6. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  7. The ________________ market has crashed.
  8. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  9. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  10. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  11. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  12. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  13. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  14. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  15. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  16. He is an ace ________________.
  17. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  18. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  19. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  20. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  21. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  22. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  23. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  24. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.

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

Answer key

  1. wake — before a funeral
  2. kid — child
  3. stock — a soup base
  4. stock — goods
  5. mark — a grade
  6. mark — to pay attention
  7. stock — shares
  8. craft — boats
  9. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  10. wake — a trail
  11. mark — a trace
  12. staff — a stick
  13. pitcher — a jug
  14. chest — of your body
  15. wake — to stop sleeping
  16. pitcher — in baseball
  17. pitcher — a jug
  18. chest — a box
  19. staff — employees
  20. kid — to tease
  21. chest — of your body
  22. craft — a handicraft
  23. staff — employees
  24. craft — a skill

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