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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 supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  2. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  3. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  4. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  5. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  6. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  7. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  8. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  9. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  10. When will it ________________ you to start?
  11. David sat on the ________________.
  12. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  13. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  14. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  15. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  16. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  17. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  18. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  19. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  20. The ________________ market has crashed.
  21. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  22. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  23. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  24. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?

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

Answer key

  1. stock — goods
  2. club — a group
  3. fan — a supporter
  4. cap — a lid
  5. stock — a soup base
  6. hand — part of the body
  7. hand — help
  8. kid — child
  9. suit — in cards
  10. suit — to fit
  11. swing — to play on
  12. hand — in cards
  13. suit — clothes
  14. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  15. cap — of ice
  16. fan — to cool the air
  17. kid — to tease
  18. club — for golf
  19. swing — music
  20. stock — shares
  21. swing — in golf
  22. cap — a hat
  23. club — for dancing
  24. fan — a supporter

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