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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.

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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 girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  2. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  3. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  4. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  5. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  6. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  7. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  8. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  9. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  10. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  11. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  12. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  13. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  14. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  15. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  16. The ________________ market has crashed.
  17. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  18. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  19. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  20. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  21. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  22. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  23. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  24. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. row — a line
  2. mouse — for a computer
  3. club — a group
  4. file — a line of people
  5. row — a quarrel
  6. file — a tool
  7. stock — goods
  8. hand — part of the body
  9. mouse — the animal
  10. file — a document
  11. perch — for a bird
  12. mouse — the animal
  13. hand — help
  14. spring — of water
  15. club — for dancing
  16. stock — shares
  17. row — to paddle
  18. spring — a coil
  19. perch — for a bird
  20. hand — in cards
  21. stock — a soup base
  22. perch — the fish
  23. spring — the season
  24. club — for golf

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