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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: club · kid · craft · hand · temple · stock · spring · bass

  1. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  2. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  3. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  4. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  5. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  6. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  7. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  8. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  9. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  10. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  11. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  12. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  13. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  14. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  15. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  16. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  17. The ________________ market has crashed.
  18. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  19. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  20. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  21. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  22. When was this ________________ built?
  23. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  24. The flowers bloom in the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. hand — part of the body
  2. club — for golf
  3. club — for dancing
  4. hand — help
  5. hand — in cards
  6. bass — the fish
  7. bass — low music
  8. temple — a place of worship
  9. craft — a handicraft
  10. craft — a skill
  11. kid — child
  12. bass — the instrument
  13. spring — of water
  14. kid — to tease
  15. stock — a soup base
  16. temple — side of the head
  17. stock — shares
  18. club — a group
  19. craft — boats
  20. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  21. stock — goods
  22. temple — a place of worship
  23. spring — a coil
  24. spring — the season

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