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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. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  2. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  3. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  4. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  5. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  6. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  7. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  8. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  9. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  10. The ________________ market has crashed.
  11. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  12. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  13. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  14. I'll be taking the ________________.
  15. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  16. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  17. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  18. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  19. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  20. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  21. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  22. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  23. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  24. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.

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

Answer key

  1. club — a group
  2. club — for golf
  3. stem — to come from
  4. track — a song
  5. track — to keep track
  6. row — to paddle
  7. club — for dancing
  8. row — a line
  9. track — a path
  10. stock — shares
  11. tube — a container
  12. clip — a video
  13. row — a quarrel
  14. tube — the underground
  15. stock — a soup base
  16. clip — for paper
  17. net — for catching
  18. clip — to cut
  19. stem — of a plant
  20. stem — a stem cell
  21. stock — goods
  22. net — after costs
  23. net — in sport
  24. tube — in a tire

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