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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 coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  2. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  3. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  4. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  5. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  6. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  7. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  8. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  9. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  10. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  11. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  12. False peace will not ________________.
  13. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  14. David sat on the ________________.
  15. The ________________ market has crashed.
  16. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  17. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  18. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  19. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  20. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  21. It's one o'clock ________________.
  22. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  23. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  24. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.

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

Answer key

  1. swing — in golf
  2. last — finally
  3. sharp — clever
  4. stock — goods
  5. capital — money
  6. stock — a soup base
  7. can — to be able to
  8. file — a line of people
  9. capital — a big letter
  10. swing — music
  11. file — a tool
  12. last — to go on
  13. last — final
  14. swing — to play on
  15. stock — shares
  16. can — a tin
  17. capital — a city
  18. mouse — for a computer
  19. can — a tin
  20. mouse — the animal
  21. sharp — exactly
  22. sharp — with an edge
  23. file — a document
  24. mouse — the animal

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