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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. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  2. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  3. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  4. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  5. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  6. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  7. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  8. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  9. The King held a masked ________________.
  10. The ________________ market has crashed.
  11. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  12. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  13. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  14. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  15. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  16. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  17. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  18. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  19. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  20. The ball is in your ________________.
  21. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  22. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  23. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  24. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.

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

Answer key

  1. club — for dancing
  2. bark — of a tree
  3. stock — goods
  4. club — for golf
  5. wind — moving air
  6. wind — moving air
  7. staff — employees
  8. court — of a king
  9. ball — a dance
  10. stock — shares
  11. lash — an eyelash
  12. staff — a stick
  13. lash — to lash out
  14. bark — to shout
  15. stock — a soup base
  16. wind — to turn a key
  17. ball — a round shape
  18. bark — a dog's sound
  19. club — a group
  20. court — for sport
  21. lash — a whip stroke
  22. court — of law
  23. ball — a great time
  24. staff — employees

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