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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. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  2. The water is too ________________.
  3. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  4. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  5. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  6. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  7. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  8. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  9. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  10. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  11. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  12. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  13. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  14. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  15. The ________________ market has crashed.
  16. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  17. How do you ________________ your surname?
  18. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  19. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  20. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  21. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  22. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  23. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  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. club — for golf
  2. cold — not warm
  3. stock — a soup base
  4. vault — an arched ceiling
  5. club — a group
  6. bass — low music
  7. patient — a sick person
  8. club — for dancing
  9. pound — to hit hard
  10. vault — in gymnastics
  11. spell — a short time
  12. vault — a safe
  13. patient — calm and waiting
  14. pound — a weight
  15. stock — shares
  16. spell — magic
  17. spell — letters
  18. pound — for dogs
  19. cold — the Cold War
  20. bass — the instrument
  21. cold — an illness
  22. patient — a sick person
  23. bass — the fish
  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