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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. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  2. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  3. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  4. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  5. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  6. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  7. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  8. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  9. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  10. The ________________ market has crashed.
  11. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  12. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  13. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  14. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  15. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  16. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  17. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  18. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  19. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  20. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  21. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  22. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  23. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  24. She's sitting on a gold ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. wound — an injury
  2. scale — in music
  3. pound — to hit hard
  4. wave — with your hand
  5. club — for golf
  6. club — a group
  7. wave — a sudden rise
  8. stem — to come from
  9. club — for dancing
  10. stock — shares
  11. mine — belonging to me
  12. scale — for weighing
  13. wave — of the sea
  14. stock — goods
  15. scale — size or range
  16. wound — an injury
  17. stem — of a plant
  18. pound — for dogs
  19. stem — a stem cell
  20. stock — a soup base
  21. wound — past of 'wind'
  22. pound — a weight
  23. mine — an explosive
  24. mine — for digging

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