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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 like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  2. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  3. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  4. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  5. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  6. The tickets are free of ________________.
  7. The ________________ market has crashed.
  8. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  9. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  10. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  11. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  12. Did you ________________ the meat?
  13. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  14. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  15. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  16. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  17. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  18. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  19. The ________________ went through the wall.
  20. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  21. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  22. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  23. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  24. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.

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

Answer key

  1. toast — bread
  2. nail — for a hammer
  3. season — of the year
  4. capital — a city
  5. chip — to eat
  6. charge — a price
  7. stock — shares
  8. season — in sport
  9. wind — to turn a key
  10. capital — a big letter
  11. stock — a soup base
  12. season — to add flavour
  13. wind — moving air
  14. toast — the most admired
  15. wind — moving air
  16. charge — in control
  17. stock — goods
  18. charge — electricity
  19. nail — for a hammer
  20. chip — in a computer
  21. chip — for betting
  22. capital — money
  23. toast — a drink to someone
  24. nail — on a finger

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