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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. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  2. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  3. It's one o'clock ________________.
  4. The ________________ market has crashed.
  5. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  6. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  7. Don't do anything ________________.
  8. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  9. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  10. Have you settled on a ________________?
  11. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  12. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  13. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  14. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  15. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  16. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  17. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  18. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  19. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  20. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  21. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  22. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  23. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  24. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.

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

Answer key

  1. club — for dancing
  2. club — for golf
  3. sharp — exactly
  4. stock — shares
  5. rash — a series
  6. chair — to sit on
  7. rash — hasty
  8. fan — a supporter
  9. stock — goods
  10. date — on the calendar
  11. chair — a leader
  12. sharp — with an edge
  13. fan — to cool the air
  14. hand — part of the body
  15. sharp — clever
  16. hand — help
  17. fan — a supporter
  18. club — a group
  19. rash — on the skin
  20. date — on the calendar
  21. stock — a soup base
  22. hand — in cards
  23. chair — a professorship
  24. date — the fruit

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