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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. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  2. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  3. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  4. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  5. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  6. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  7. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  8. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  9. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  10. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  11. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  12. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  13. The ________________ market has crashed.
  14. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  15. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  16. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  17. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  18. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  19. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  20. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  21. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  22. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  23. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  24. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. mine — an explosive
  2. chip — for betting
  3. board — to get on
  4. stock — a soup base
  5. mine — belonging to me
  6. pound — a weight
  7. wind — to turn a key
  8. pound — to hit hard
  9. spring — the season
  10. march — music
  11. board — a committee
  12. pound — for dogs
  13. stock — shares
  14. chip — to eat
  15. stock — goods
  16. march — the month
  17. chip — in a computer
  18. spring — a coil
  19. wind — moving air
  20. mine — for digging
  21. wind — moving air
  22. board — a flat piece
  23. spring — of water
  24. march — the month

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