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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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Word bank
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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: stock · swing · pit · club · ground · arm · cold · bulb

  1. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  2. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  3. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  4. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  5. I've got to change the light ________________.
  6. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  7. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  8. The water is too ________________.
  9. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  10. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  11. There's no middle ________________.
  12. My father caught me by the ________________.
  13. David sat on the ________________.
  14. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  15. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  16. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  17. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  18. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  19. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  20. The light ________________ burned out.
  21. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  22. The ________________ market has crashed.
  23. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  24. Add some ________________ pepper to it.

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

Answer key

  1. club — for golf
  2. club — a group
  3. pit — a fruit stone
  4. club — for dancing
  5. bulb — for light
  6. stock — goods
  7. bulb — of a plant
  8. cold — not warm
  9. arm — part of the body
  10. swing — music
  11. ground — a position
  12. arm — part of the body
  13. swing — to play on
  14. stock — a soup base
  15. swing — in golf
  16. pit — in a race
  17. ground — the earth
  18. arm — a part of something
  19. cold — the Cold War
  20. bulb — for light
  21. pit — a hole
  22. stock — shares
  23. cold — an illness
  24. ground — crushed

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