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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. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  2. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  3. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  4. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  5. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  6. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  7. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  8. The tickets are free of ________________.
  9. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  10. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  11. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  12. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  13. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  14. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  15. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  16. We're on a ________________ here.
  17. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  18. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  19. The ________________ market has crashed.
  20. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  21. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  22. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  23. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  24. He was blown up by a land ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. club — for dancing
  2. roll — a cake
  3. fan — a supporter
  4. fan — to cool the air
  5. bat — in an idiom
  6. bat — for baseball
  7. club — a group
  8. charge — a price
  9. stock — goods
  10. charge — electricity
  11. mine — for digging
  12. bat — the animal
  13. stem — a stem cell
  14. mine — belonging to me
  15. stem — of a plant
  16. roll — on a roll
  17. roll — a list
  18. fan — a supporter
  19. stock — shares
  20. stem — to come from
  21. club — for golf
  22. charge — in control
  23. stock — a soup base
  24. mine — an explosive

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