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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. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  2. The ________________ market has crashed.
  3. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  4. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  5. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  6. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  7. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  8. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  9. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  10. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  11. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  12. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  13. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  14. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  15. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  16. David sat on the ________________.
  17. This piece is in a major ________________.
  18. It's one o'clock ________________.
  19. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  20. That was a fun ________________.
  21. He was locked up in a ________________.
  22. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  23. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  24. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.

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

Answer key

  1. cell — a phone
  2. stock — shares
  3. chip — to eat
  4. sharp — with an edge
  5. key — for a lock
  6. swing — in golf
  7. wind — moving air
  8. stock — goods
  9. wind — to turn a key
  10. chip — for betting
  11. chip — in a computer
  12. swing — music
  13. game — wild animals
  14. sharp — clever
  15. wind — moving air
  16. swing — to play on
  17. key — in music
  18. sharp — exactly
  19. key — the most important part
  20. game — a match
  21. cell — in a prison
  22. stock — a soup base
  23. game — a kind of play
  24. cell — in biology

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