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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. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  2. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  3. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  4. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  5. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  6. Don't do anything ________________.
  7. The ________________ market has crashed.
  8. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  9. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  10. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  11. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  12. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  13. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  14. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  15. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  16. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  17. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  18. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  19. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  20. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  21. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  22. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  23. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  24. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.

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

Answer key

  1. rash — on the skin
  2. pitch — completely
  3. lean — to bend
  4. stock — goods
  5. pitch — a sports field
  6. rash — hasty
  7. stock — shares
  8. mine — for digging
  9. bowl — a football final
  10. capital — a big letter
  11. stock — a soup base
  12. hide — to keep secret
  13. lean — thin
  14. bowl — to roll
  15. capital — money
  16. capital — a city
  17. bowl — a dish
  18. hide — to keep secret
  19. hide — animal skin
  20. rash — a series
  21. lean — to rest against
  22. mine — an explosive
  23. mine — belonging to me
  24. pitch — a sales talk

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