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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. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  2. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  3. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  4. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  5. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  6. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  7. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  8. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  9. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  10. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  11. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  12. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  13. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  14. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  15. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  16. David sat on the ________________.
  17. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  18. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  19. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  20. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  21. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  22. The ________________ market has crashed.
  23. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  24. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.

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

Answer key

  1. present — a gift
  2. club — for dancing
  3. object — an aim
  4. capital — money
  5. stock — a soup base
  6. capital — a city
  7. stock — goods
  8. club — a group
  9. swing — music
  10. present — there
  11. bank — for money
  12. branch — a division
  13. swing — in golf
  14. capital — a big letter
  15. branch — of a tree
  16. swing — to play on
  17. object — to protest
  18. bank — of a river
  19. club — for golf
  20. present — the time now
  21. branch — of a bank
  22. stock — shares
  23. object — a thing
  24. bank — for money

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