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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. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  3. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  4. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  5. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  6. He is an ace ________________.
  7. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  8. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  9. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  10. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  11. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  12. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  13. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  14. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  15. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  16. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  17. When are we going to ________________?
  18. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  19. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  20. The ________________ market has crashed.
  21. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  22. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  23. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  24. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.

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

Answer key

  1. club — a group
  2. trunk — of an elephant
  3. club — for golf
  4. land — a country
  5. pitcher — a jug
  6. pitcher — in baseball
  7. pitcher — a jug
  8. stock — goods
  9. trunk — of a car
  10. spring — of water
  11. can — to be able to
  12. wake — before a funeral
  13. spring — the season
  14. trunk — of a tree
  15. wake — to stop sleeping
  16. stock — a soup base
  17. land — to come down
  18. can — a tin
  19. club — for dancing
  20. stock — shares
  21. can — a tin
  22. spring — a coil
  23. land — ground
  24. wake — a trail

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