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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. That was ________________ to happen.
  3. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  4. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  5. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  6. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  7. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  8. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  9. The ball is in your ________________.
  10. There's no middle ________________.
  11. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  12. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  13. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  14. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  15. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  16. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  17. That was a fun ________________.
  18. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  19. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  20. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  21. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  22. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  23. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  24. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.

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

Answer key

  1. stock — shares
  2. bound — certain
  3. squash — the sport
  4. squash — to crush
  5. court — of a king
  6. squash — the vegetable
  7. ground — crushed
  8. game — a kind of play
  9. court — for sport
  10. ground — a position
  11. chip — in a computer
  12. bound — tied together
  13. fan — a supporter
  14. chip — to eat
  15. court — of law
  16. stock — a soup base
  17. game — a match
  18. ground — the earth
  19. fan — to cool the air
  20. bound — obliged
  21. game — wild animals
  22. fan — a supporter
  23. stock — goods
  24. chip — for betting

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