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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 supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  2. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  3. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  4. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  5. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  6. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  7. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  8. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  9. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  10. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  11. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  12. When was this ________________ built?
  13. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  14. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  15. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  16. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  17. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  18. The ________________ market has crashed.
  19. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  20. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  21. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  22. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  23. The King held a masked ________________.
  24. David sat on the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. stock — goods
  2. ball — a great time
  3. swing — music
  4. chair — a professorship
  5. rule — government
  6. rule — to rule out
  7. swing — in golf
  8. rule — a law
  9. chair — a leader
  10. spring — a coil
  11. stock — a soup base
  12. temple — a place of worship
  13. hand — in cards
  14. spring — the season
  15. spring — of water
  16. temple — a place of worship
  17. temple — side of the head
  18. stock — shares
  19. hand — part of the body
  20. ball — a round shape
  21. chair — to sit on
  22. hand — help
  23. ball — a dance
  24. swing — to play on

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