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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. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  2. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  3. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  4. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  5. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  6. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  7. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  8. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  9. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  10. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  11. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  12. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  13. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  14. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  15. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  16. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  17. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  18. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  19. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  20. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  21. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  22. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  23. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  24. The ________________ market has crashed.

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

Answer key

  1. bowl — a football final
  2. capital — money
  3. bowl — a dish
  4. fine — a penalty
  5. wind — moving air
  6. capital — a big letter
  7. capital — a city
  8. fine — all right
  9. stock — goods
  10. lie — to recline
  11. bowl — to roll
  12. race — a contest
  13. hand — in cards
  14. stock — a soup base
  15. fine — high quality
  16. race — the arms race
  17. lie — an untruth
  18. hand — part of the body
  19. hand — help
  20. lie — an untruth
  21. wind — moving air
  22. race — humankind
  23. wind — to turn a key
  24. stock — shares

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