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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. Have you found your soul ________________?
  2. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  3. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  4. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  5. The ________________ market has crashed.
  6. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  7. We're almost out of ________________.
  8. He works in a ________________ mill.
  9. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  10. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  11. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  12. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  13. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  14. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  15. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  16. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  17. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  18. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  19. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  20. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  21. You don't need to ________________ round.
  22. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  23. She's very handy with a ________________.
  24. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.

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

Answer key

  1. mate — a partner
  2. wind — to turn a key
  3. club — for golf
  4. wind — moving air
  5. stock — shares
  6. club — a group
  7. pop — soda
  8. saw — the tool
  9. staff — employees
  10. track — a path
  11. stock — a soup base
  12. saw — past of 'see'
  13. pop — music
  14. mate — a friend
  15. wind — moving air
  16. staff — employees
  17. track — a song
  18. track — to keep track
  19. staff — a stick
  20. club — for dancing
  21. pop — to visit
  22. mate — to breed
  23. saw — the tool
  24. stock — goods

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