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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. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  2. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  3. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  4. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  5. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  6. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  7. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  8. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  9. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  10. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  11. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  12. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  13. David sat on the ________________.
  14. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  15. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  16. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  17. The ________________ market has crashed.
  18. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  19. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  20. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  21. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  22. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  23. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  24. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.

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

Answer key

  1. club — for dancing
  2. bark — to shout
  3. stock — a soup base
  4. stock — goods
  5. swing — in golf
  6. club — a group
  7. chest — of your body
  8. fan — to cool the air
  9. root — of a plant
  10. fan — a supporter
  11. fall — to drop
  12. root — of a word
  13. swing — to play on
  14. bark — of a tree
  15. club — for golf
  16. fall — to drop
  17. stock — shares
  18. swing — music
  19. root — the cause
  20. chest — of your body
  21. fan — a supporter
  22. chest — a box
  23. bark — a dog's sound
  24. fall — the season

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