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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. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  2. The ________________ market has crashed.
  3. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  4. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  5. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  6. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  7. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  8. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  9. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  10. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  11. That was a fun ________________.
  12. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  13. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  14. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  15. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  16. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  17. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  18. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  19. That was ________________ to happen.
  20. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  21. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  22. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  23. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  24. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.

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

Answer key

  1. game — a kind of play
  2. stock — shares
  3. root — of a word
  4. capital — money
  5. straw — a straw man
  6. stock — a soup base
  7. straw — to clutch at straws
  8. kick — a thrill
  9. root — the cause
  10. capital — a big letter
  11. game — a match
  12. game — wild animals
  13. bound — obliged
  14. ruler — a monarch
  15. bound — tied together
  16. straw — dry grass
  17. capital — a city
  18. kick — with a leg
  19. bound — certain
  20. ruler — for measuring
  21. root — of a plant
  22. kick — in football
  23. ruler — for measuring
  24. stock — goods

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