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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. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  2. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  3. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  4. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  5. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  6. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  7. You don't need to ________________ round.
  8. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  9. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  10. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  11. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  12. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  13. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  14. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  15. The ________________ market has crashed.
  16. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  17. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  18. We're almost out of ________________.
  19. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  20. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  21. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  22. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  23. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  24. Beijing is the ________________ of China.

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

Answer key

  1. club — for golf
  2. capital — a big letter
  3. kid — to tease
  4. dip — to dunk
  5. racket — for tennis
  6. capital — money
  7. pop — to visit
  8. club — a group
  9. spring — a coil
  10. dip — a sauce
  11. stock — goods
  12. dip — to sink
  13. pop — music
  14. club — for dancing
  15. stock — shares
  16. kid — child
  17. stock — a soup base
  18. pop — soda
  19. spring — the season
  20. racket — for tennis
  21. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  22. racket — a loud noise
  23. spring — of water
  24. capital — a city

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