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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: dip · ball · swing · field · club · stock · root · rash

  1. Don't do anything ________________.
  2. David sat on the ________________.
  3. The King held a masked ________________.
  4. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  5. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  6. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  7. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  8. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  9. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  10. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  11. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  12. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  13. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  14. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  15. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  16. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  17. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  18. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  19. The ________________ market has crashed.
  20. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  21. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  22. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  23. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  24. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.

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

Answer key

  1. rash — hasty
  2. swing — to play on
  3. ball — a dance
  4. rash — on the skin
  5. swing — in golf
  6. root — of a word
  7. field — a subject
  8. root — of a plant
  9. ball — a round shape
  10. club — for golf
  11. field — farmland
  12. root — the cause
  13. swing — music
  14. stock — goods
  15. dip — a sauce
  16. dip — to dunk
  17. rash — a series
  18. ball — a great time
  19. stock — shares
  20. stock — a soup base
  21. club — a group
  22. dip — to sink
  23. field — for sport
  24. club — for dancing

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