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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 116 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. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  2. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  3. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  4. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  5. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  6. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  7. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  8. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  9. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  10. The ________________ market has crashed.
  11. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  12. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  13. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  14. Don't do anything ________________.
  15. David sat on the ________________.
  16. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  17. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  18. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  19. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  20. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  21. The King held a masked ________________.
  22. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  23. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  24. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.

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

Answer key

  1. wind — to turn a key
  2. club — for golf
  3. clip — to cut
  4. wind — moving air
  5. stock — a soup base
  6. mouse — the animal
  7. rash — a series
  8. mouse — the animal
  9. swing — in golf
  10. stock — shares
  11. ball — a round shape
  12. mouse — for a computer
  13. swing — music
  14. rash — hasty
  15. swing — to play on
  16. clip — a video
  17. wind — moving air
  18. club — a group
  19. ball — a great time
  20. club — for dancing
  21. ball — a dance
  22. clip — for paper
  23. rash — on the skin
  24. stock — goods

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