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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. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  2. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  3. She's very handy with a ________________.
  4. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  5. The ________________ market has crashed.
  6. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  7. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  8. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  9. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  10. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  11. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  12. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  13. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  14. It's one o'clock ________________.
  15. He works in a ________________ mill.
  16. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  17. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  18. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  19. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  20. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  21. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  22. This piece is in a major ________________.
  23. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  24. Hard work is the ________________ to success.

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

Answer key

  1. wind — moving air
  2. bank — for money
  3. saw — the tool
  4. key — for a lock
  5. stock — shares
  6. sharp — with an edge
  7. stock — goods
  8. capital — a city
  9. bear — the animal
  10. capital — money
  11. bank — for money
  12. wind — to turn a key
  13. stock — a soup base
  14. sharp — exactly
  15. saw — the tool
  16. capital — a big letter
  17. saw — past of 'see'
  18. sharp — clever
  19. bank — of a river
  20. wind — moving air
  21. bear — to put up with
  22. key — in music
  23. bear — the animal
  24. key — the most important part

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