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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. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  2. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  3. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  4. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  5. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  6. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  7. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  8. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  9. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  10. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  11. How do you ________________ your surname?
  12. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  13. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  14. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  15. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  16. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  17. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  18. He is an ace ________________.
  19. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  20. The ________________ went through the wall.
  21. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  22. The ________________ market has crashed.
  23. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  24. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.

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

Answer key

  1. stock — goods
  2. nail — for a hammer
  3. mine — an explosive
  4. spell — a short time
  5. row — to paddle
  6. straw — to clutch at straws
  7. club — a group
  8. pitcher — a jug
  9. club — for dancing
  10. mine — for digging
  11. spell — letters
  12. stock — a soup base
  13. mine — belonging to me
  14. straw — dry grass
  15. straw — a straw man
  16. spell — magic
  17. nail — on a finger
  18. pitcher — in baseball
  19. club — for golf
  20. nail — for a hammer
  21. row — a quarrel
  22. stock — shares
  23. pitcher — a jug
  24. row — a line

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