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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. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  2. It's one o'clock ________________.
  3. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  4. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  5. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  6. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  7. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  8. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  9. The ________________ market has crashed.
  10. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  11. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  12. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  13. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  14. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  15. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  16. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  17. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  18. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  19. The King held a masked ________________.
  20. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  21. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  22. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  23. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  24. The kitten curled into a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. rock — music
  2. sharp — exactly
  3. stock — goods
  4. tear — to rip
  5. ball — a great time
  6. staff — employees
  7. spring — the season
  8. tear — from crying
  9. stock — shares
  10. club — for dancing
  11. club — for golf
  12. staff — a stick
  13. rock — to move gently
  14. sharp — with an edge
  15. spring — a coil
  16. spring — of water
  17. club — a group
  18. rock — a stone
  19. ball — a dance
  20. tear — from crying
  21. sharp — clever
  22. stock — a soup base
  23. staff — employees
  24. ball — a round shape

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