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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. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  2. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  3. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  4. The ________________ market has crashed.
  5. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  6. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  7. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  8. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  9. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  10. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  11. Don't do anything ________________.
  12. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  13. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  14. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  15. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  16. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  17. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  18. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  19. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  20. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  21. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  22. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  23. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  24. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. stock — a soup base
  2. chair — a leader
  3. capital — money
  4. stock — shares
  5. rash — a series
  6. vault — a safe
  7. cue — for pool
  8. capital — a city
  9. wound — past of 'wind'
  10. stick — a piece of wood
  11. rash — hasty
  12. rash — on the skin
  13. stick — a piece of wood
  14. cue — a hint
  15. vault — an arched ceiling
  16. vault — in gymnastics
  17. cue — a signal
  18. stick — to attach or keep to
  19. wound — an injury
  20. capital — a big letter
  21. chair — a professorship
  22. stock — goods
  23. wound — an injury
  24. chair — to sit on

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