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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 116 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. We're almost out of ________________.
  2. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  3. David sat on the ________________.
  4. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  5. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  6. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  7. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  8. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  9. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  10. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  11. The ________________ market has crashed.
  12. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  13. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  14. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  15. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  16. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  17. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  18. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  19. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  20. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  21. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  22. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  23. You don't need to ________________ round.
  24. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. pop — soda
  2. club — for dancing
  3. swing — to play on
  4. fine — high quality
  5. swing — in golf
  6. drill — a practice
  7. mine — an explosive
  8. club — a group
  9. fine — a penalty
  10. stock — goods
  11. stock — shares
  12. mine — belonging to me
  13. wound — an injury
  14. drill — army training
  15. swing — music
  16. drill — the tool
  17. stock — a soup base
  18. fine — all right
  19. wound — an injury
  20. mine — for digging
  21. wound — past of 'wind'
  22. pop — music
  23. pop — to visit
  24. club — for golf

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