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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. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  4. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  5. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  6. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  7. Have you settled on a ________________?
  8. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  9. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  10. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  11. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  12. Did you ________________ the button?
  13. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  14. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  15. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  16. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  17. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  18. The ________________ market has crashed.
  19. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  20. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  21. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  22. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  23. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  24. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.

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. hide — to keep secret
  4. snap — to click
  5. press — a publisher
  6. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  7. date — on the calendar
  8. stock — goods
  9. date — the fruit
  10. snap — to snap out of it
  11. hide — animal skin
  12. press — to push
  13. date — on the calendar
  14. hide — to keep secret
  15. press — newspapers
  16. club — for golf
  17. wound — an injury
  18. stock — shares
  19. kid — child
  20. wound — an injury
  21. snap — to speak sharply
  22. stock — a soup base
  23. wound — past of 'wind'
  24. club — for dancing

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