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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. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  2. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  3. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  4. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  5. David sat on the ________________.
  6. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  7. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  8. The ________________ market has crashed.
  9. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  10. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  11. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  12. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  13. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  14. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  15. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  16. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  17. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  18. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  19. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  20. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  21. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  22. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  23. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  24. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. swing — in golf
  2. mine — belonging to me
  3. fan — a supporter
  4. trunk — of a tree
  5. swing — to play on
  6. club — for golf
  7. swing — music
  8. stock — shares
  9. stock — a soup base
  10. capital — a city
  11. mine — for digging
  12. trunk — of a car
  13. club — a group
  14. scale — in music
  15. scale — for weighing
  16. fan — to cool the air
  17. mine — an explosive
  18. stock — goods
  19. capital — a big letter
  20. trunk — of an elephant
  21. club — for dancing
  22. capital — money
  23. fan — a supporter
  24. scale — size or range

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