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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 · kid · drill · club · ball · fall · present · straw

  1. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  2. The King held a masked ________________.
  3. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  4. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  5. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  6. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  7. The ________________ market has crashed.
  8. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  9. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  10. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  11. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  12. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  13. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  14. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  15. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  16. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  17. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  18. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  19. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  20. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  21. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  22. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  23. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  24. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. club — for golf
  2. ball — a dance
  3. stock — a soup base
  4. present — there
  5. ball — a great time
  6. fall — to drop
  7. stock — shares
  8. present — a gift
  9. ball — a round shape
  10. stock — goods
  11. club — for dancing
  12. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  13. club — a group
  14. drill — the tool
  15. kid — to tease
  16. straw — dry grass
  17. fall — the season
  18. present — the time now
  19. kid — child
  20. straw — a straw man
  21. fall — to drop
  22. drill — a practice
  23. drill — army training
  24. straw — to clutch at straws

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