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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 120 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 hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  2. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  3. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  4. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  5. The ________________ market has crashed.
  6. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  7. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  8. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  9. Have you met the new head ________________?
  10. It's one o'clock ________________.
  11. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  12. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  13. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  14. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  15. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  16. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  17. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  18. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  19. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  20. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  21. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  22. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  23. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  24. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?

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

Answer key

  1. spring — of water
  2. mine — belonging to me
  3. club — for golf
  4. bass — low music
  5. stock — shares
  6. sharp — clever
  7. mine — for digging
  8. row — a line
  9. coach — a trainer
  10. sharp — exactly
  11. spring — a coil
  12. row — to paddle
  13. row — a quarrel
  14. bass — the instrument
  15. stock — a soup base
  16. stock — goods
  17. club — for dancing
  18. sharp — with an edge
  19. spring — the season
  20. mine — an explosive
  21. coach — a trainer
  22. club — a group
  23. bass — the fish
  24. coach — pulled by horses

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