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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 120 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'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  2. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  3. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  4. When are we going to ________________?
  5. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  6. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  7. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  8. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  9. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  10. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  11. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  12. The ________________ market has crashed.
  13. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  14. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  15. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  16. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  17. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  18. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  19. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  20. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  21. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  22. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  23. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  24. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. land — ground
  2. firm — steady
  3. pitch — a sales talk
  4. land — to come down
  5. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  6. spring — of water
  7. club — for golf
  8. stock — a soup base
  9. pitch — completely
  10. spring — the season
  11. kid — child
  12. stock — shares
  13. rest — a break
  14. kid — to tease
  15. rest — what's left
  16. stock — goods
  17. club — for dancing
  18. rest — what's left
  19. land — a country
  20. pitch — a sports field
  21. spring — a coil
  22. firm — decided
  23. club — a group
  24. firm — a company

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