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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. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  3. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  4. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  5. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  6. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  7. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  8. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  9. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  10. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  11. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  12. The ________________ market has crashed.
  13. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  14. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  15. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  16. Have you met the new head ________________?
  17. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  18. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  19. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  20. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  21. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  22. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  23. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  24. The water is too ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. club — a group
  2. coach — pulled by horses
  3. net — for catching
  4. stock — a soup base
  5. staff — a stick
  6. staff — employees
  7. chest — a box
  8. rule — to rule out
  9. rule — a law
  10. stock — goods
  11. chest — of your body
  12. stock — shares
  13. club — for golf
  14. net — after costs
  15. net — in sport
  16. coach — a trainer
  17. chest — of your body
  18. cold — an illness
  19. rule — government
  20. cold — the Cold War
  21. coach — a trainer
  22. club — for dancing
  23. staff — employees
  24. cold — not warm

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