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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. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  2. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  3. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  4. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  5. The King held a masked ________________.
  6. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  7. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  8. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  9. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  10. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  11. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  12. The ________________ market has crashed.
  13. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  14. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  15. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  16. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  17. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  18. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  19. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  20. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  21. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  22. David sat on the ________________.
  23. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  24. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.

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

Answer key

  1. present — there
  2. present — the time now
  3. march — music
  4. club — for golf
  5. ball — a dance
  6. swing — music
  7. wind — to turn a key
  8. wind — moving air
  9. club — for dancing
  10. root — of a plant
  11. stock — goods
  12. stock — shares
  13. ball — a round shape
  14. root — the cause
  15. march — the month
  16. ball — a great time
  17. wind — moving air
  18. present — a gift
  19. march — the month
  20. root — of a word
  21. swing — in golf
  22. swing — to play on
  23. stock — a soup base
  24. club — a group

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