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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 124 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 newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  2. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  3. The ________________ market has crashed.
  4. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  5. That was a fun ________________.
  6. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  7. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  8. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  9. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  10. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  11. What do you think of the new ________________?
  12. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  13. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  14. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  15. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  16. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  17. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  18. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  19. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  20. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  21. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  22. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  23. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  24. I got dealt a bad ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. foot — the bottom
  2. capital — a big letter
  3. stock — shares
  4. chip — in a computer
  5. game — a match
  6. chip — for betting
  7. stock — a soup base
  8. stock — goods
  9. capital — a city
  10. chip — to eat
  11. cabinet — ministers
  12. foot — a measure
  13. capital — money
  14. game — wild animals
  15. foot — part of the body
  16. race — a contest
  17. cabinet — a cupboard
  18. cabinet — ministers
  19. hand — part of the body
  20. race — the arms race
  21. race — humankind
  22. game — a kind of play
  23. hand — help
  24. hand — in cards

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