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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 116 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. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  2. The ________________ market has crashed.
  3. That was a fun ________________.
  4. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  5. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  6. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  7. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  8. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  9. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  10. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  11. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  12. My mare is ________________ in color.
  13. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  14. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  15. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  16. That was ________________ to happen.
  17. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  18. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  19. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  20. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  21. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  22. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  23. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  24. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.

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

Answer key

  1. stock — a soup base
  2. stock — shares
  3. game — a match
  4. bound — obliged
  5. bear — the animal
  6. hand — help
  7. capital — money
  8. bear — the animal
  9. bound — tied together
  10. game — a kind of play
  11. bay — to keep at bay
  12. bay — a horse colour
  13. bear — to put up with
  14. wind — to turn a key
  15. bay — a part of the sea
  16. bound — certain
  17. hand — part of the body
  18. wind — moving air
  19. capital — a city
  20. hand — in cards
  21. stock — goods
  22. game — wild animals
  23. capital — a big letter
  24. wind — moving air

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