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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. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  2. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  3. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  4. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  5. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  6. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  7. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  8. That was a fun ________________.
  9. The ________________ market has crashed.
  10. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  11. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  12. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  13. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  14. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  15. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  16. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  17. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  18. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  19. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  20. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  21. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  22. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  23. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  24. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.

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

Answer key

  1. capital — money
  2. straw — to clutch at straws
  3. stock — a soup base
  4. capital — a big letter
  5. rule — a law
  6. straw — dry grass
  7. mine — for digging
  8. game — a match
  9. stock — shares
  10. rule — to rule out
  11. rule — government
  12. game — a kind of play
  13. game — wild animals
  14. stock — goods
  15. rest — a break
  16. stem — of a plant
  17. capital — a city
  18. stem — a stem cell
  19. rest — what's left
  20. mine — belonging to me
  21. stem — to come from
  22. rest — what's left
  23. mine — an explosive
  24. straw — a straw man

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