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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. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  2. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  3. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  4. The ________________ market has crashed.
  5. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  6. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  7. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  8. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  9. That was ________________ to happen.
  10. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  11. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  12. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  13. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  14. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  15. That was a fun ________________.
  16. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  17. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  18. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  19. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  20. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  21. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  22. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  23. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  24. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.

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

Answer key

  1. bound — tied together
  2. stock — goods
  3. chip — for betting
  4. stock — shares
  5. degree — temperature
  6. chip — in a computer
  7. chip — to eat
  8. club — for golf
  9. bound — certain
  10. stock — a soup base
  11. trunk — of an elephant
  12. capital — a city
  13. club — for dancing
  14. capital — money
  15. game — a match
  16. degree — an amount
  17. bound — obliged
  18. game — a kind of play
  19. degree — from a university
  20. game — wild animals
  21. trunk — of a tree
  22. trunk — of a car
  23. capital — a big letter
  24. club — a group

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