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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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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. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  2. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  3. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  4. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  5. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  6. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  7. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  8. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  9. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  10. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  11. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  12. The ________________ market has crashed.
  13. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  14. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  15. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  16. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  17. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  18. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  19. How do you ________________ your surname?
  20. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  21. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  22. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  23. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  24. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.

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

Answer key

  1. club — a group
  2. wind — moving air
  3. current — happening now
  4. spell — magic
  5. wind — moving air
  6. club — for dancing
  7. ruler — a monarch
  8. current — electric
  9. bat — the animal
  10. ruler — for measuring
  11. bat — in an idiom
  12. stock — shares
  13. club — for golf
  14. spell — a short time
  15. stock — a soup base
  16. wind — to turn a key
  17. current — of water
  18. dip — a sauce
  19. spell — letters
  20. dip — to sink
  21. dip — to dunk
  22. bat — for baseball
  23. stock — goods
  24. ruler — for measuring

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