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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. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  3. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  4. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  5. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  6. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  7. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  8. The ________________ market has crashed.
  9. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  10. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  11. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  12. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  13. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  14. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  15. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  16. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  17. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  18. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  19. Don't do anything ________________.
  20. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  21. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  22. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  23. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  24. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. club — for golf
  2. club — a group
  3. stock — a soup base
  4. branch — a division
  5. rash — on the skin
  6. branch — of a bank
  7. staff — employees
  8. stock — shares
  9. rash — a series
  10. stock — goods
  11. chest — of your body
  12. bat — in an idiom
  13. bat — the animal
  14. bat — for baseball
  15. object — to protest
  16. object — a thing
  17. staff — a stick
  18. club — for dancing
  19. rash — hasty
  20. chest — of your body
  21. staff — employees
  22. chest — a box
  23. branch — of a tree
  24. object — an aim

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