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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. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  2. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  3. There's no middle ________________.
  4. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  5. She's very handy with a ________________.
  6. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  7. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  8. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  9. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  10. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  11. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  12. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  13. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  14. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  15. He is an ace ________________.
  16. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  17. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  18. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  19. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  20. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  21. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  22. He works in a ________________ mill.
  23. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  24. The ________________ market has crashed.

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

Answer key

  1. fine — all right
  2. pitcher — a jug
  3. ground — a position
  4. stock — a soup base
  5. saw — the tool
  6. saw — past of 'see'
  7. ground — crushed
  8. chip — in a computer
  9. capital — a big letter
  10. squash — to crush
  11. ground — the earth
  12. chip — to eat
  13. squash — the vegetable
  14. capital — money
  15. pitcher — in baseball
  16. squash — the sport
  17. capital — a city
  18. pitcher — a jug
  19. fine — a penalty
  20. stock — goods
  21. fine — high quality
  22. saw — the tool
  23. chip — for betting
  24. stock — shares

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