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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. The ________________ market has crashed.
  2. That was ________________ to happen.
  3. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  4. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  5. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  6. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  7. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  8. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  9. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  10. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  11. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  12. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  13. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  14. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  15. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  16. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  17. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  18. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  19. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  20. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  21. It's one o'clock ________________.
  22. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  23. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  24. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.

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

Answer key

  1. stock — shares
  2. bound — certain
  3. bound — tied together
  4. capital — money
  5. rest — what's left
  6. sharp — with an edge
  7. bound — obliged
  8. rest — a break
  9. file — a line of people
  10. rest — what's left
  11. stock — goods
  12. stock — a soup base
  13. track — a song
  14. pit — in a race
  15. track — to keep track
  16. file — a tool
  17. capital — a city
  18. sharp — clever
  19. file — a document
  20. capital — a big letter
  21. sharp — exactly
  22. pit — a hole
  23. pit — a fruit stone
  24. track — a path

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