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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 was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  2. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  3. When are we going to ________________?
  4. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  5. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  6. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  7. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  8. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  9. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  10. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  11. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  12. The King held a masked ________________.
  13. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  14. The ________________ market has crashed.
  15. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  16. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  17. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  18. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  19. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  20. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  21. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  22. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  23. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  24. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.

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

Answer key

  1. ball — a great time
  2. ball — a round shape
  3. land — to come down
  4. bark — of a tree
  5. fan — a supporter
  6. club — a group
  7. spring — of water
  8. club — for dancing
  9. spring — the season
  10. bark — a dog's sound
  11. cue — for pool
  12. ball — a dance
  13. land — ground
  14. stock — shares
  15. cue — a hint
  16. land — a country
  17. fan — a supporter
  18. fan — to cool the air
  19. cue — a signal
  20. stock — a soup base
  21. spring — a coil
  22. stock — goods
  23. club — for golf
  24. bark — to shout

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