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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. That was a fun ________________.
  2. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  3. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  4. The ball is in your ________________.
  5. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  6. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  7. The ________________ market has crashed.
  8. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  9. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  10. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  11. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  12. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  13. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  14. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  15. The water is too ________________.
  16. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  17. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  18. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  19. The tickets are free of ________________.
  20. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  21. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  22. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  23. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  24. What do you think of the new ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. game — a match
  2. cold — an illness
  3. wind — moving air
  4. court — for sport
  5. court — of law
  6. lean — to rest against
  7. stock — shares
  8. game — wild animals
  9. lean — thin
  10. charge — in control
  11. cabinet — ministers
  12. cabinet — a cupboard
  13. court — of a king
  14. cold — the Cold War
  15. cold — not warm
  16. lean — to bend
  17. charge — electricity
  18. game — a kind of play
  19. charge — a price
  20. wind — moving air
  21. stock — a soup base
  22. wind — to turn a key
  23. stock — goods
  24. cabinet — ministers

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