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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 strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  2. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  3. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  4. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  5. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  6. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  7. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  8. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  9. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  10. False peace will not ________________.
  11. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  12. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  13. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  14. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  15. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  16. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  17. The ball is in your ________________.
  18. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  19. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  20. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  21. The ________________ market has crashed.
  22. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  23. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  24. Where did you ________________ them?

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

Answer key

  1. wind — moving air
  2. deal — an agreement
  3. deal — to handle
  4. mug — a face
  5. chip — for betting
  6. last — final
  7. stock — goods
  8. deal — a big deal
  9. mug — a cup
  10. last — to go on
  11. court — of a king
  12. court — of law
  13. last — finally
  14. wind — to turn a key
  15. stock — a soup base
  16. wind — moving air
  17. court — for sport
  18. chip — to eat
  19. mine — for digging
  20. mine — an explosive
  21. stock — shares
  22. mine — belonging to me
  23. chip — in a computer
  24. mug — to rob

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