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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. The ________________ market has crashed.
  2. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  3. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  4. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  5. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  6. What do you think of the new ________________?
  7. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  8. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  9. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  10. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  11. The water is too ________________.
  12. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  13. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  14. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  15. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  16. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  17. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  18. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  19. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  20. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  21. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  22. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  23. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  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. stock — shares
  2. dip — to sink
  3. pitch — a sales talk
  4. stick — a piece of wood
  5. stick — a piece of wood
  6. cabinet — ministers
  7. race — humankind
  8. cold — an illness
  9. pitch — completely
  10. pitch — a sports field
  11. cold — not warm
  12. capital — money
  13. capital — a big letter
  14. stick — to attach or keep to
  15. dip — a sauce
  16. cold — the Cold War
  17. cabinet — a cupboard
  18. stock — a soup base
  19. dip — to dunk
  20. race — the arms race
  21. capital — a city
  22. cabinet — ministers
  23. race — a contest
  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