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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. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  2. The ________________ market has crashed.
  3. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  4. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  5. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  6. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  7. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  8. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  9. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  10. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  11. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  12. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  13. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  14. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  15. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  16. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  17. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  18. He works in a ________________ mill.
  19. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  20. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  21. She's very handy with a ________________.
  22. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  23. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  24. He took the fish out of the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. safe — a strongbox
  2. stock — shares
  3. club — a group
  4. stock — goods
  5. bat — in an idiom
  6. safe — out of danger
  7. stock — a soup base
  8. prune — to trim
  9. bat — the animal
  10. safe — out of danger
  11. club — for dancing
  12. capital — a big letter
  13. prune — the fruit
  14. saw — past of 'see'
  15. bat — for baseball
  16. net — in sport
  17. capital — a city
  18. saw — the tool
  19. net — after costs
  20. prune — to trim
  21. saw — the tool
  22. club — for golf
  23. capital — money
  24. net — for catching

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