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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. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  2. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  3. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  4. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  5. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  6. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  7. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  8. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  9. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  10. That was ________________ to happen.
  11. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  12. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  13. David sat on the ________________.
  14. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  15. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  16. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  17. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  18. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  19. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  20. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  21. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  22. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  23. The ________________ market has crashed.
  24. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.

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

Answer key

  1. chest — of your body
  2. bowl — a dish
  3. bound — obliged
  4. file — a document
  5. bowl — to roll
  6. board — to get on
  7. bound — tied together
  8. swing — in golf
  9. file — a line of people
  10. bound — certain
  11. capital — money
  12. board — a committee
  13. swing — to play on
  14. stock — a soup base
  15. chest — a box
  16. capital — a big letter
  17. file — a tool
  18. swing — music
  19. board — a flat piece
  20. capital — a city
  21. bowl — a football final
  22. chest — of your body
  23. stock — shares
  24. stock — goods

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