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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 belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  2. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  3. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  4. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  5. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  6. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  7. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  8. The ________________ market has crashed.
  9. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  10. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  11. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  12. I've got to change the light ________________.
  13. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  14. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  15. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  16. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  17. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  18. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  19. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  20. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  21. The light ________________ burned out.
  22. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  23. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  24. I play ________________ in a jazz band.

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

Answer key

  1. club — a group
  2. kid — to tease
  3. perch — the fish
  4. stock — goods
  5. calf — a young animal
  6. club — for golf
  7. perch — for a bird
  8. stock — shares
  9. bass — the fish
  10. bass — low music
  11. bulb — of a plant
  12. bulb — for light
  13. perch — for a bird
  14. kid — child
  15. mine — belonging to me
  16. mine — for digging
  17. club — for dancing
  18. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  19. mine — an explosive
  20. calf — of the leg
  21. bulb — for light
  22. calf — a young animal
  23. stock — a soup base
  24. bass — the instrument

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