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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. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  2. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  3. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  4. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  5. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  6. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  7. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  8. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  9. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  10. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  11. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  12. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  13. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  14. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  15. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  16. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  17. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  18. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  19. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  20. The ________________ market has crashed.
  21. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  22. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  23. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  24. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. club — for golf
  2. tear — from crying
  3. club — for dancing
  4. march — music
  5. trunk — of a car
  6. club — a group
  7. march — the month
  8. field — farmland
  9. track — a path
  10. mouse — for a computer
  11. march — the month
  12. stock — goods
  13. mouse — the animal
  14. track — a song
  15. stock — a soup base
  16. field — a subject
  17. trunk — of a tree
  18. track — to keep track
  19. tear — from crying
  20. stock — shares
  21. trunk — of an elephant
  22. tear — to rip
  23. mouse — the animal
  24. field — for sport

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