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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. The ________________ market has crashed.
  2. You don't need to ________________ round.
  3. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  4. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  5. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  6. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  7. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  8. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  9. That was a fun ________________.
  10. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  11. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  12. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  13. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  14. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  15. David sat on the ________________.
  16. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  17. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  18. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  19. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  20. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  21. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  22. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  23. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  24. We're almost out of ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. stock — shares
  2. pop — to visit
  3. racket — for tennis
  4. fork — a garden tool
  5. fork — to eat with
  6. straw — a straw man
  7. straw — dry grass
  8. straw — to clutch at straws
  9. game — a match
  10. swing — music
  11. current — of water
  12. pop — music
  13. fork — in a road
  14. racket — a loud noise
  15. swing — to play on
  16. current — electric
  17. game — wild animals
  18. stock — goods
  19. swing — in golf
  20. stock — a soup base
  21. racket — for tennis
  22. game — a kind of play
  23. current — happening now
  24. pop — soda

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