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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. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  2. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  3. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  4. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  5. The ________________ market has crashed.
  6. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  7. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  8. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  9. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  10. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  11. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  12. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  13. This piece is in a major ________________.
  14. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  15. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  16. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  17. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  18. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  19. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  20. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  21. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  22. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  23. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  24. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.

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. club — for dancing
  4. stock — a soup base
  5. stock — shares
  6. fork — a garden tool
  7. bat — for baseball
  8. squash — to crush
  9. fork — in a road
  10. key — the most important part
  11. pitch — a sports field
  12. fan — a supporter
  13. key — in music
  14. squash — the sport
  15. pitch — a sales talk
  16. key — for a lock
  17. squash — the vegetable
  18. pitch — completely
  19. bat — the animal
  20. club — a group
  21. fan — a supporter
  22. bat — in an idiom
  23. stock — goods
  24. fork — to eat with

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