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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. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  3. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  4. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  5. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  6. Did you ________________ the meat?
  7. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  8. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  9. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  10. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  11. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  12. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  13. That was a fun ________________.
  14. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  15. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  16. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  17. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  18. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  19. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  20. When are we going to ________________?
  21. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  22. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  23. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  24. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.

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

Answer key

  1. stock — shares
  2. deal — to handle
  3. season — of the year
  4. patient — a sick person
  5. deal — an agreement
  6. season — to add flavour
  7. stock — goods
  8. patient — calm and waiting
  9. land — ground
  10. game — wild animals
  11. lie — an untruth
  12. capital — a city
  13. game — a match
  14. land — a country
  15. stock — a soup base
  16. lie — to recline
  17. patient — a sick person
  18. lie — an untruth
  19. deal — a big deal
  20. land — to come down
  21. game — a kind of play
  22. capital — money
  23. season — in sport
  24. capital — a big letter

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