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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. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  2. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  3. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  4. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  5. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  6. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  7. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  8. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  9. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  10. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  11. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  12. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  13. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  14. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  15. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  16. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  17. It's one o'clock ________________.
  18. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  19. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  20. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  21. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  22. The ________________ market has crashed.
  23. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  24. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. hand — in cards
  2. stock — goods
  3. club — for golf
  4. spring — the season
  5. current — of water
  6. sharp — clever
  7. hand — help
  8. hide — to keep secret
  9. sharp — with an edge
  10. hide — to keep secret
  11. spring — of water
  12. current — happening now
  13. spring — a coil
  14. current — electric
  15. club — a group
  16. club — for dancing
  17. sharp — exactly
  18. chest — a box
  19. chest — of your body
  20. chest — of your body
  21. hide — animal skin
  22. stock — shares
  23. stock — a soup base
  24. hand — part of the body

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