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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 120 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. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  2. When are we going to ________________?
  3. The ________________ market has crashed.
  4. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  5. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  6. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  7. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  8. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  9. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  10. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  11. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  12. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  13. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  14. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  15. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  16. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  17. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  18. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  19. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  20. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  21. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  22. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  23. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  24. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.

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

Answer key

  1. capital — money
  2. land — to come down
  3. stock — shares
  4. land — ground
  5. land — a country
  6. safe — out of danger
  7. drill — army training
  8. trunk — of an elephant
  9. capital — a city
  10. wind — moving air
  11. safe — out of danger
  12. stock — a soup base
  13. safe — a strongbox
  14. wind — to turn a key
  15. stock — goods
  16. trunk — of a tree
  17. capital — a big letter
  18. chip — for betting
  19. chip — in a computer
  20. wind — moving air
  21. drill — the tool
  22. drill — a practice
  23. trunk — of a car
  24. chip — to eat

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