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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 belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  2. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  3. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  4. The King held a masked ________________.
  5. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  6. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  7. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  8. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  9. Did you ________________ the meat?
  10. The ________________ market has crashed.
  11. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  12. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  13. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  14. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  15. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  16. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  17. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  18. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  19. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  20. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  21. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  22. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  23. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  24. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.

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

Answer key

  1. club — a group
  2. chest — of your body
  3. fall — to drop
  4. ball — a dance
  5. stock — a soup base
  6. stock — goods
  7. dip — to dunk
  8. ball — a great time
  9. season — to add flavour
  10. stock — shares
  11. tear — from crying
  12. fall — the season
  13. chest — of your body
  14. season — in sport
  15. ball — a round shape
  16. dip — to sink
  17. dip — a sauce
  18. fall — to drop
  19. tear — to rip
  20. season — of the year
  21. tear — from crying
  22. club — for dancing
  23. club — for golf
  24. chest — a box

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