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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. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  2. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  3. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  4. The ________________ market has crashed.
  5. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  6. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  7. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  8. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  9. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  10. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  11. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  12. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  13. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  14. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  15. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  16. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  17. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  18. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  19. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  20. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  21. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  22. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  23. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  24. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.

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

Answer key

  1. row — a quarrel
  2. club — a group
  3. shower — to wash
  4. stock — shares
  5. branch — of a bank
  6. branch — of a tree
  7. branch — a division
  8. shower — rain
  9. wound — an injury
  10. row — a line
  11. club — for dancing
  12. row — to paddle
  13. wound — past of 'wind'
  14. shower — a meteor shower
  15. pitch — completely
  16. stock — goods
  17. fine — a penalty
  18. stock — a soup base
  19. pitch — a sports field
  20. fine — all right
  21. wound — an injury
  22. pitch — a sales talk
  23. club — for golf
  24. fine — high quality

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