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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. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  2. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  3. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  4. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  5. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  6. The ________________ market has crashed.
  7. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  8. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  9. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  10. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  11. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  12. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  13. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  14. I can't ________________ this cold.
  15. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  16. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  17. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  18. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  19. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  20. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  21. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  22. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  23. That was a fun ________________.
  24. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. wound — an injury
  2. stock — a soup base
  3. game — a kind of play
  4. fan — a supporter
  5. hand — part of the body
  6. stock — shares
  7. capital — money
  8. pass — a permit
  9. capital — a city
  10. fan — to cool the air
  11. wound — past of 'wind'
  12. hand — help
  13. pass — to spend time
  14. stand — to bear
  15. wound — an injury
  16. stand — for spectators
  17. hand — in cards
  18. fan — a supporter
  19. stock — goods
  20. pass — to succeed
  21. capital — a big letter
  22. stand — on your feet
  23. game — a match
  24. game — wild animals

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