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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. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  2. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  3. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  4. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  5. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  6. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  7. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  8. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  9. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  10. The ball is in your ________________.
  11. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  12. It's one o'clock ________________.
  13. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  14. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  15. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  16. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  17. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  18. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  19. There's no middle ________________.
  20. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  21. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  22. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  23. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  24. The ________________ market has crashed.

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

Answer key

  1. mine — for digging
  2. squash — to crush
  3. mine — belonging to me
  4. wind — moving air
  5. mine — an explosive
  6. wind — moving air
  7. toast — bread
  8. squash — the sport
  9. wind — to turn a key
  10. court — for sport
  11. toast — a drink to someone
  12. sharp — exactly
  13. sharp — clever
  14. ground — the earth
  15. sharp — with an edge
  16. toast — the most admired
  17. stock — goods
  18. ground — crushed
  19. ground — a position
  20. court — of a king
  21. squash — the vegetable
  22. court — of law
  23. stock — a soup base
  24. stock — shares

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