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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 116 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. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  2. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  3. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  4. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  5. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  6. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  7. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  8. Did you ________________ the button?
  9. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  10. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  11. The ball is in your ________________.
  12. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  13. David sat on the ________________.
  14. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  15. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  16. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  17. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  18. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  19. The ________________ market has crashed.
  20. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  21. That was a fun ________________.
  22. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  23. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  24. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.

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

Answer key

  1. capital — money
  2. swing — in golf
  3. press — newspapers
  4. game — wild animals
  5. stock — a soup base
  6. court — of law
  7. game — a kind of play
  8. press — to push
  9. race — humankind
  10. wound — an injury
  11. court — for sport
  12. court — of a king
  13. swing — to play on
  14. swing — music
  15. race — the arms race
  16. wound — an injury
  17. capital — a city
  18. capital — a big letter
  19. stock — shares
  20. stock — goods
  21. game — a match
  22. press — a publisher
  23. wound — past of 'wind'
  24. race — a contest

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