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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. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  3. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  4. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  5. The ________________ market has crashed.
  6. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  7. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  8. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  9. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  10. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  11. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  12. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  13. The ball is in your ________________.
  14. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  15. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  16. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  17. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  18. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  19. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  20. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  21. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  22. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  23. How do you ________________ your surname?
  24. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.

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

Answer key

  1. club — for golf
  2. object — a thing
  3. mine — an explosive
  4. mine — for digging
  5. stock — shares
  6. deal — to handle
  7. stock — a soup base
  8. spell — magic
  9. court — of a king
  10. shower — a meteor shower
  11. shower — to wash
  12. object — an aim
  13. court — for sport
  14. deal — an agreement
  15. mine — belonging to me
  16. stock — goods
  17. shower — rain
  18. court — of law
  19. spell — a short time
  20. club — for dancing
  21. club — a group
  22. object — to protest
  23. spell — letters
  24. deal — a big deal

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