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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: stock · club · file · fall · hand · spring · swing · fine

  1. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  2. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  3. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  4. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  5. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  6. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  7. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  8. The ________________ market has crashed.
  9. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  10. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  11. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  12. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  13. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  14. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  15. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  16. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  17. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  18. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  19. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  20. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  21. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  22. David sat on the ________________.
  23. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  24. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.

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

Answer key

  1. fall — to drop
  2. hand — part of the body
  3. club — a group
  4. fall — the season
  5. club — for dancing
  6. stock — a soup base
  7. swing — in golf
  8. stock — shares
  9. fine — a penalty
  10. spring — the season
  11. fine — high quality
  12. hand — in cards
  13. file — a tool
  14. spring — of water
  15. hand — help
  16. file — a line of people
  17. club — for golf
  18. fall — to drop
  19. spring — a coil
  20. stock — goods
  21. swing — music
  22. swing — to play on
  23. fine — all right
  24. file — a document

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