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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. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  2. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  3. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  4. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  5. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  6. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  7. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  8. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  9. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  10. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  11. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  12. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  13. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  14. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  15. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  16. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  17. That was a fun ________________.
  18. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  19. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  20. The ________________ market has crashed.
  21. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  22. David sat on the ________________.
  23. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  24. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.

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

Answer key

  1. game — a kind of play
  2. chair — a professorship
  3. swing — music
  4. capital — a city
  5. swing — in golf
  6. craft — a handicraft
  7. craft — boats
  8. chair — a leader
  9. capital — a big letter
  10. face — to confront
  11. stock — a soup base
  12. patient — a sick person
  13. patient — calm and waiting
  14. patient — a sick person
  15. capital — money
  16. chair — to sit on
  17. game — a match
  18. game — wild animals
  19. face — part of the head
  20. stock — shares
  21. craft — a skill
  22. swing — to play on
  23. face — to point toward
  24. stock — goods

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