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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 116 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. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  2. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  3. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  4. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  5. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  6. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  7. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  8. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  9. She's very handy with a ________________.
  10. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  11. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  12. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  13. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  14. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  15. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  16. He works in a ________________ mill.
  17. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  18. The ________________ market has crashed.
  19. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  20. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  21. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  22. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  23. The water is too ________________.
  24. I'd like to play a game of ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. saw — past of 'see'
  2. fine — high quality
  3. cold — an illness
  4. wind — to turn a key
  5. fine — a penalty
  6. stock — goods
  7. capital — money
  8. stock — a soup base
  9. saw — the tool
  10. hand — part of the body
  11. fine — all right
  12. hand — help
  13. squash — to crush
  14. capital — a big letter
  15. squash — the vegetable
  16. saw — the tool
  17. hand — in cards
  18. stock — shares
  19. wind — moving air
  20. wind — moving air
  21. capital — a city
  22. cold — the Cold War
  23. cold — not warm
  24. squash — the sport

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

Make a worksheet (0 words)

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