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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.

Words on the sheet
468
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: net · club · squash · cabinet · stock · tear · chip · court

  1. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  2. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  3. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  4. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  5. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  6. The ball is in your ________________.
  7. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  8. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  9. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  10. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  11. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  12. The ________________ market has crashed.
  13. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  14. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  15. What do you think of the new ________________?
  16. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  17. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  18. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  19. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  20. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  21. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  22. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  23. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  24. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.

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

Answer key

  1. chip — in a computer
  2. tear — to rip
  3. club — for golf
  4. net — after costs
  5. cabinet — a cupboard
  6. court — for sport
  7. court — of law
  8. tear — from crying
  9. squash — the sport
  10. net — in sport
  11. stock — goods
  12. stock — shares
  13. squash — the vegetable
  14. chip — to eat
  15. cabinet — ministers
  16. court — of a king
  17. squash — to crush
  18. stock — a soup base
  19. net — for catching
  20. club — for dancing
  21. chip — for betting
  22. tear — from crying
  23. cabinet — ministers
  24. club — a group

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