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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. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  2. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  3. The ________________ market has crashed.
  4. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  5. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  6. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  7. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  8. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  9. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  10. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  11. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  12. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  13. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  14. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  15. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  16. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  17. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  18. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  19. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  20. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  21. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  22. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  23. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  24. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.

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

Answer key

  1. kid — child
  2. chair — a professorship
  3. stock — shares
  4. fall — to drop
  5. lash — to lash out
  6. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  7. prune — to trim
  8. stock — goods
  9. fall — the season
  10. row — a quarrel
  11. lash — an eyelash
  12. row — to paddle
  13. chair — a leader
  14. club — a group
  15. prune — to trim
  16. club — for golf
  17. row — a line
  18. club — for dancing
  19. fall — to drop
  20. chair — to sit on
  21. stock — a soup base
  22. prune — the fruit
  23. lash — a whip stroke
  24. kid — to tease

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