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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. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  2. The ________________ market has crashed.
  3. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  4. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  5. There's no middle ________________.
  6. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  7. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  8. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  9. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  10. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  11. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  12. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  13. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  14. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  15. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  16. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  17. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  18. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  19. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  20. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  21. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  22. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  23. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  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. ground — the earth
  2. stock — shares
  3. capital — a big letter
  4. stock — a soup base
  5. ground — a position
  6. bore — to tire
  7. capital — a city
  8. straw — dry grass
  9. club — for golf
  10. straw — to clutch at straws
  11. capital — money
  12. row — a quarrel
  13. club — for dancing
  14. shower — a meteor shower
  15. stock — goods
  16. shower — rain
  17. shower — to wash
  18. bore — to drill
  19. straw — a straw man
  20. bore — gave birth
  21. row — a line
  22. row — to paddle
  23. ground — crushed
  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