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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. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  2. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  3. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  4. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  5. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  6. David sat on the ________________.
  7. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  8. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  9. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  10. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  11. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  12. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  13. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  14. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  15. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  16. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  17. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  18. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  19. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  20. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  21. The ________________ market has crashed.
  22. He is an ace ________________.
  23. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  24. What's the difference between broth and ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. lean — thin
  2. bowl — to roll
  3. chip — for betting
  4. drill — army training
  5. lean — to bend
  6. swing — to play on
  7. drill — a practice
  8. capital — a big letter
  9. chip — to eat
  10. pitcher — a jug
  11. lean — to rest against
  12. stock — goods
  13. swing — music
  14. capital — a city
  15. bowl — a dish
  16. drill — the tool
  17. chip — in a computer
  18. pitcher — a jug
  19. swing — in golf
  20. bowl — a football final
  21. stock — shares
  22. pitcher — in baseball
  23. capital — money
  24. stock — a soup base

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