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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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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: tear · swing · perch · club · mine · bound · stock · key

  1. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  2. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  3. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  4. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  5. This piece is in a major ________________.
  6. David sat on the ________________.
  7. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  8. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  9. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  10. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  11. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  12. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  13. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  14. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  15. The ________________ market has crashed.
  16. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  17. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  18. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  19. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  20. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  21. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  22. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  23. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  24. That was ________________ to happen.

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

Answer key

  1. perch — for a bird
  2. club — for golf
  3. mine — belonging to me
  4. tear — from crying
  5. key — in music
  6. swing — to play on
  7. swing — in golf
  8. club — a group
  9. mine — an explosive
  10. stock — a soup base
  11. bound — tied together
  12. perch — for a bird
  13. perch — the fish
  14. tear — from crying
  15. stock — shares
  16. key — for a lock
  17. tear — to rip
  18. key — the most important part
  19. club — for dancing
  20. swing — music
  21. bound — obliged
  22. mine — for digging
  23. stock — goods
  24. bound — certain

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