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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 · bat · rule · march · mine · club · bulb · bass

  1. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  2. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  3. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  4. The light ________________ burned out.
  5. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  6. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  7. The ________________ market has crashed.
  8. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  9. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  10. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  11. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  12. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  13. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  14. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  15. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  16. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  17. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  18. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  19. I've got to change the light ________________.
  20. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  21. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  22. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  23. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  24. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.

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

Answer key

  1. club — a group
  2. mine — for digging
  3. march — the month
  4. bulb — for light
  5. rule — government
  6. stock — a soup base
  7. stock — shares
  8. rule — to rule out
  9. bass — low music
  10. bat — the animal
  11. bat — in an idiom
  12. club — for dancing
  13. stock — goods
  14. rule — a law
  15. mine — an explosive
  16. march — music
  17. bat — for baseball
  18. mine — belonging to me
  19. bulb — for light
  20. bass — the fish
  21. club — for golf
  22. bulb — of a plant
  23. bass — the instrument
  24. march — the month

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