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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. The ________________ market has crashed.
  2. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  3. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  4. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  5. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  6. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  7. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  8. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  9. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  10. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  11. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  12. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  13. The tickets are free of ________________.
  14. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  15. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  16. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  17. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  18. That was a fun ________________.
  19. When will it ________________ you to start?
  20. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  21. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  22. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  23. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  24. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?

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

Answer key

  1. stock — shares
  2. pitch — a sales talk
  3. game — wild animals
  4. chest — of your body
  5. rock — to move gently
  6. charge — electricity
  7. bat — the animal
  8. game — a kind of play
  9. suit — in cards
  10. bat — in an idiom
  11. stock — goods
  12. pitch — a sports field
  13. charge — a price
  14. suit — clothes
  15. bat — for baseball
  16. chest — a box
  17. charge — in control
  18. game — a match
  19. suit — to fit
  20. rock — a stone
  21. stock — a soup base
  22. chest — of your body
  23. pitch — completely
  24. rock — music

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