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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. He works in a ________________ mill.
  2. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  3. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  4. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  5. She's very handy with a ________________.
  6. The ________________ market has crashed.
  7. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  8. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  9. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  10. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  11. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  12. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  13. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  14. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  15. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  16. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  17. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  18. When are we going to ________________?
  19. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  20. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  21. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  22. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  23. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  24. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. saw — the tool
  2. club — a group
  3. content — happy
  4. pitch — a sales talk
  5. saw — the tool
  6. stock — shares
  7. hand — part of the body
  8. club — for golf
  9. hand — help
  10. pitch — a sports field
  11. stock — goods
  12. content — the amount
  13. capital — a city
  14. capital — money
  15. saw — past of 'see'
  16. land — ground
  17. land — a country
  18. land — to come down
  19. pitch — completely
  20. club — for dancing
  21. stock — a soup base
  22. hand — in cards
  23. capital — a big letter
  24. content — videos and posts

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