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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: straw · fall · club · ball · spring · chest · bore · stock

  1. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  2. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  3. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  4. The King held a masked ________________.
  5. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  6. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  7. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  8. The ________________ market has crashed.
  9. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  10. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  11. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  12. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  13. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  14. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  15. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  16. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  17. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  18. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  19. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  20. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  21. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  22. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  23. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  24. What's the difference between broth and ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. club — for dancing
  2. stock — goods
  3. spring — the season
  4. ball — a dance
  5. club — for golf
  6. chest — of your body
  7. chest — of your body
  8. stock — shares
  9. straw — to clutch at straws
  10. straw — a straw man
  11. straw — dry grass
  12. spring — of water
  13. ball — a round shape
  14. fall — to drop
  15. chest — a box
  16. bore — gave birth
  17. fall — to drop
  18. spring — a coil
  19. bore — to tire
  20. ball — a great time
  21. club — a group
  22. fall — the season
  23. bore — to drill
  24. stock — a soup base

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