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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 116 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 ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  3. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  4. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  5. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  6. The ________________ market has crashed.
  7. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  8. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  9. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  10. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  11. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  12. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  13. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  14. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  15. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  16. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  17. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  18. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  19. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  20. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  21. The King held a masked ________________.
  22. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  23. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  24. The kitten curled into a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. club — for dancing
  2. bat — the animal
  3. stock — a soup base
  4. track — a path
  5. staff — employees
  6. stock — shares
  7. shower — a meteor shower
  8. staff — a stick
  9. shower — rain
  10. staff — employees
  11. bat — in an idiom
  12. content — videos and posts
  13. ball — a great time
  14. track — a song
  15. content — happy
  16. track — to keep track
  17. bat — for baseball
  18. content — the amount
  19. stock — goods
  20. club — a group
  21. ball — a dance
  22. shower — to wash
  23. club — for golf
  24. ball — a round shape

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