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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. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  2. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  3. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  4. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  5. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  6. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  7. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  8. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  9. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  10. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  11. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  12. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  13. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  14. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  15. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  16. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  17. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  18. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  19. The ________________ market has crashed.
  20. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  21. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  22. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  23. The ________________ went through the wall.
  24. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.

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

Answer key

  1. bat — in an idiom
  2. bat — for baseball
  3. squash — the vegetable
  4. rest — a break
  5. club — for golf
  6. squash — the sport
  7. clip — to cut
  8. stock — goods
  9. stock — a soup base
  10. squash — to crush
  11. nail — on a finger
  12. bat — the animal
  13. capital — a big letter
  14. clip — for paper
  15. rest — what's left
  16. clip — a video
  17. capital — money
  18. rest — what's left
  19. stock — shares
  20. club — for dancing
  21. capital — a city
  22. nail — for a hammer
  23. nail — for a hammer
  24. club — a group

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