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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. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  2. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  3. That must've been a ________________.
  4. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  5. David sat on the ________________.
  6. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  7. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  8. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  9. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  10. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  11. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  12. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  13. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  14. It's one o'clock ________________.
  15. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  16. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  17. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  18. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  19. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  20. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  21. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  22. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  23. The ________________ market has crashed.
  24. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.

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

Answer key

  1. stock — goods
  2. swing — in golf
  3. rush — a thrill
  4. row — a line
  5. swing — to play on
  6. sharp — clever
  7. bank — for money
  8. capital — a city
  9. squash — to crush
  10. squash — the sport
  11. capital — a big letter
  12. rush — hurry
  13. rush — to hurry
  14. sharp — exactly
  15. bank — of a river
  16. squash — the vegetable
  17. row — to paddle
  18. sharp — with an edge
  19. stock — a soup base
  20. row — a quarrel
  21. swing — music
  22. capital — money
  23. stock — shares
  24. bank — for money

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