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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. The ________________ market has crashed.
  2. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  3. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  4. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  5. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  6. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  7. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  8. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  9. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  10. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  11. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  12. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  13. The tickets are free of ________________.
  14. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  15. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  16. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  17. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  18. There's no middle ________________.
  19. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  20. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  21. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  22. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  23. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  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. stock — shares
  2. chair — a leader
  3. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  4. ground — crushed
  5. stick — a piece of wood
  6. charge — in control
  7. stock — a soup base
  8. fine — high quality
  9. chair — to sit on
  10. stick — to attach or keep to
  11. charge — electricity
  12. kid — child
  13. charge — a price
  14. fine — all right
  15. chair — a professorship
  16. fine — a penalty
  17. stick — a piece of wood
  18. ground — a position
  19. trunk — of a car
  20. kid — to tease
  21. ground — the earth
  22. trunk — of an elephant
  23. trunk — of a tree
  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