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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. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  2. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  3. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  4. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  5. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  6. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  7. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  8. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  9. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  10. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  11. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  12. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  13. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  14. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  15. The ________________ market has crashed.
  16. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  17. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  18. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  19. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  20. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  21. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  22. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  23. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  24. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.

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

Answer key

  1. club — for golf
  2. fan — to cool the air
  3. fan — a supporter
  4. club — a group
  5. chest — a box
  6. kid — to tease
  7. object — an aim
  8. stock — a soup base
  9. mouse — the animal
  10. chest — of your body
  11. capital — money
  12. kid — child
  13. object — to protest
  14. capital — a big letter
  15. stock — shares
  16. chest — of your body
  17. capital — a city
  18. club — for dancing
  19. mouse — the animal
  20. mouse — for a computer
  21. object — a thing
  22. fan — a supporter
  23. stock — goods
  24. kid — young goat (kid gloves)

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