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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. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  2. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  3. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  4. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  5. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  6. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  7. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  8. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  9. How do you ________________ your surname?
  10. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  11. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  12. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  13. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  14. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  15. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  16. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  17. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  18. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  19. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  20. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  21. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  22. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  23. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  24. The ________________ market has crashed.

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

Answer key

  1. stock — a soup base
  2. spell — a short time
  3. club — for golf
  4. rest — a break
  5. drill — the tool
  6. drill — army training
  7. stick — to attach or keep to
  8. drill — a practice
  9. spell — letters
  10. spell — magic
  11. club — a group
  12. spring — a coil
  13. stick — a piece of wood
  14. file — a tool
  15. spring — of water
  16. file — a document
  17. file — a line of people
  18. rest — what's left
  19. spring — the season
  20. stock — goods
  21. rest — what's left
  22. stick — a piece of wood
  23. club — for dancing
  24. stock — shares

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