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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 didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  2. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  3. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  4. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  5. Don't do anything ________________.
  6. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  7. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  8. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  9. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  10. The ________________ market has crashed.
  11. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  12. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  13. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  14. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  15. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  16. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  17. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  18. The ball is in your ________________.
  19. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  20. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  21. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  22. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  23. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  24. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.

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

Answer key

  1. wake — to stop sleeping
  2. deal — a big deal
  3. safe — out of danger
  4. stock — goods
  5. rash — hasty
  6. capital — money
  7. court — of law
  8. pitch — completely
  9. stock — a soup base
  10. stock — shares
  11. pitch — a sales talk
  12. safe — a strongbox
  13. wake — before a funeral
  14. rash — a series
  15. court — of a king
  16. safe — out of danger
  17. capital — a city
  18. court — for sport
  19. pitch — a sports field
  20. rash — on the skin
  21. capital — a big letter
  22. deal — an agreement
  23. deal — to handle
  24. wake — a trail

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