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

  1. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  2. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  3. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  4. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  5. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  6. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  7. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  8. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  9. She's very handy with a ________________.
  10. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  11. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  12. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  13. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  14. The ________________ market has crashed.
  15. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  16. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  17. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  18. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  19. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  20. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  21. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  22. He works in a ________________ mill.
  23. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  24. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.

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

Answer key

  1. saw — past of 'see'
  2. club — for dancing
  3. kid — to tease
  4. row — a line
  5. chest — a box
  6. bowl — to roll
  7. row — to paddle
  8. kid — child
  9. saw — the tool
  10. bowl — a football final
  11. row — a quarrel
  12. wind — moving air
  13. stock — goods
  14. stock — shares
  15. club — for golf
  16. stock — a soup base
  17. bowl — a dish
  18. chest — of your body
  19. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  20. wind — moving air
  21. club — a group
  22. saw — the tool
  23. wind — to turn a key
  24. chest — of your body

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