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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 120 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. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  3. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  4. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  5. The ball is in your ________________.
  6. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  7. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  8. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  9. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  10. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  11. I'll be taking the ________________.
  12. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  13. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  14. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  15. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  16. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  17. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  18. The ________________ market has crashed.
  19. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  20. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  21. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  22. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  23. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  24. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.

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

Answer key

  1. club — a group
  2. tube — in a tire
  3. stick — a piece of wood
  4. stock — a soup base
  5. court — for sport
  6. court — of law
  7. tube — a container
  8. club — for dancing
  9. court — of a king
  10. stick — a piece of wood
  11. tube — the underground
  12. degree — an amount
  13. foot — the bottom
  14. chip — to eat
  15. foot — part of the body
  16. club — for golf
  17. stock — goods
  18. stock — shares
  19. chip — in a computer
  20. stick — to attach or keep to
  21. chip — for betting
  22. foot — a measure
  23. degree — from a university
  24. degree — temperature

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