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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. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  2. The ________________ market has crashed.
  3. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  4. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  5. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  6. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  7. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  8. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  9. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  10. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  11. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  12. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  13. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  14. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  15. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  16. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  17. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  18. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  19. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  20. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  21. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  22. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  23. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  24. We had a fire ________________ at school today.

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

Answer key

  1. stock — a soup base
  2. stock — shares
  3. pitch — a sports field
  4. club — for golf
  5. rock — to move gently
  6. track — a song
  7. racket — a loud noise
  8. tear — to rip
  9. stock — goods
  10. racket — for tennis
  11. rock — music
  12. rock — a stone
  13. track — a path
  14. tear — from crying
  15. track — to keep track
  16. tear — from crying
  17. club — a group
  18. drill — the tool
  19. pitch — completely
  20. pitch — a sales talk
  21. racket — for tennis
  22. club — for dancing
  23. drill — army training
  24. drill — a practice

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