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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. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  2. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  3. The ________________ market has crashed.
  4. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  5. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  6. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  7. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  8. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  9. Have you met the new head ________________?
  10. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  11. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  12. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  13. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  14. There's no middle ________________.
  15. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  16. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  17. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  18. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  19. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  20. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  21. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  22. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  23. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  24. We were using a ________________ as a seat.

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

Answer key

  1. rock — music
  2. track — a path
  3. stock — shares
  4. capital — a big letter
  5. rock — to move gently
  6. capital — a city
  7. stock — goods
  8. coach — pulled by horses
  9. coach — a trainer
  10. ground — crushed
  11. chip — in a computer
  12. track — to keep track
  13. capital — money
  14. ground — a position
  15. chip — to eat
  16. current — happening now
  17. current — of water
  18. ground — the earth
  19. coach — a trainer
  20. stock — a soup base
  21. current — electric
  22. track — a song
  23. chip — for betting
  24. rock — a stone

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