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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. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  2. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  3. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  4. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  5. The ________________ market has crashed.
  6. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  7. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  8. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  9. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  10. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  11. We're almost out of ________________.
  12. You don't need to ________________ round.
  13. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  14. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  15. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  16. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  17. He works in a ________________ mill.
  18. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  19. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  20. She's very handy with a ________________.
  21. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  22. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  23. Have you met the new head ________________?
  24. What's the difference between broth and ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. pop — music
  2. hand — help
  3. club — a group
  4. wound — an injury
  5. stock — shares
  6. coach — pulled by horses
  7. stock — goods
  8. hand — in cards
  9. wound — past of 'wind'
  10. wound — an injury
  11. pop — soda
  12. pop — to visit
  13. pass — to spend time
  14. pass — to succeed
  15. pass — a permit
  16. coach — a trainer
  17. saw — the tool
  18. club — for golf
  19. hand — part of the body
  20. saw — the tool
  21. club — for dancing
  22. saw — past of 'see'
  23. coach — a trainer
  24. stock — a soup base

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