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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. Have you found your soul ________________?
  2. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  3. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  4. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  5. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  6. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  7. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  8. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  9. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  10. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  11. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  12. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  13. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  14. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  15. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  16. The ________________ market has crashed.
  17. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  18. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  19. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  20. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  21. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  22. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  23. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  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. mate — a partner
  2. mate — a friend
  3. kick — with a leg
  4. club — for golf
  5. pound — to hit hard
  6. track — a path
  7. pound — for dogs
  8. club — a group
  9. bass — low music
  10. kick — in football
  11. kick — a thrill
  12. snap — to snap out of it
  13. stock — goods
  14. track — to keep track
  15. snap — to click
  16. stock — shares
  17. mate — to breed
  18. stock — a soup base
  19. bass — the fish
  20. track — a song
  21. bass — the instrument
  22. pound — a weight
  23. snap — to speak sharply
  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