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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. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  2. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  3. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  4. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  5. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  6. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  7. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  8. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  9. He was locked up in a ________________.
  10. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  11. The King held a masked ________________.
  12. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  13. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  14. The ________________ market has crashed.
  15. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  16. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  17. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  18. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  19. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  20. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  21. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  22. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  23. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  24. The kitten curled into a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. club — for dancing
  2. net — for catching
  3. cell — a phone
  4. staff — a stick
  5. stock — goods
  6. rest — what's left
  7. rest — what's left
  8. net — in sport
  9. cell — in a prison
  10. rest — a break
  11. ball — a dance
  12. club — a group
  13. ball — a great time
  14. stock — shares
  15. root — the cause
  16. root — of a plant
  17. net — after costs
  18. club — for golf
  19. root — of a word
  20. stock — a soup base
  21. staff — employees
  22. staff — employees
  23. cell — in biology
  24. ball — a round shape

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