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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 116 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 in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. The ________________ market has crashed.
  2. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  3. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  4. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  5. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  6. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  7. He works in a ________________ mill.
  8. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  9. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  10. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  11. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  12. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  13. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  14. She's very handy with a ________________.
  15. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  16. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  17. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  18. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  19. Did you ________________ the meat?
  20. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  21. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  22. False peace will not ________________.
  23. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  24. He keeps ________________ of his days.

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

Answer key

  1. stock — shares
  2. club — for golf
  3. season — in sport
  4. club — for dancing
  5. bank — for money
  6. stock — a soup base
  7. saw — the tool
  8. rule — a law
  9. saw — past of 'see'
  10. last — finally
  11. track — a song
  12. rule — to rule out
  13. last — final
  14. saw — the tool
  15. bank — of a river
  16. club — a group
  17. season — of the year
  18. stock — goods
  19. season — to add flavour
  20. bank — for money
  21. rule — government
  22. last — to go on
  23. track — a path
  24. track — to keep track

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