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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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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  2. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  3. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  4. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  5. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  6. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  7. The ________________ market has crashed.
  8. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  9. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  10. Have you met the new head ________________?
  11. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  12. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  13. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  14. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  15. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  16. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  17. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  18. This looks like a gunshot ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. cue — for pool
  2. stock — a soup base
  3. coach — a trainer
  4. hand — help
  5. cue — a signal
  6. coach — pulled by horses
  7. stock — shares
  8. wound — an injury
  9. capital — a city
  10. coach — a trainer
  11. hand — part of the body
  12. wound — past of 'wind'
  13. hand — in cards
  14. cue — a hint
  15. capital — a big letter
  16. capital — money
  17. stock — goods
  18. wound — an injury

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