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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. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  2. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  3. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  4. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  5. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  6. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  7. It's one o'clock ________________.
  8. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  9. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  10. The ________________ went through the wall.
  11. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  12. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  13. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  14. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  15. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  16. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  17. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  18. That was a fun ________________.
  19. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  20. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  21. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  22. How do you ________________ your surname?
  23. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  24. The ________________ market has crashed.

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

Answer key

  1. club — for dancing
  2. sharp — clever
  3. game — a kind of play
  4. club — for golf
  5. stock — a soup base
  6. sharp — with an edge
  7. sharp — exactly
  8. game — wild animals
  9. wind — to turn a key
  10. nail — for a hammer
  11. pound — for dogs
  12. pound — a weight
  13. pound — to hit hard
  14. nail — for a hammer
  15. club — a group
  16. spell — a short time
  17. nail — on a finger
  18. game — a match
  19. wind — moving air
  20. stock — goods
  21. wind — moving air
  22. spell — letters
  23. spell — magic
  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