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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. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  2. The ________________ market has crashed.
  3. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  4. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  5. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  6. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  7. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  8. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  9. Have you found your soul ________________?
  10. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  11. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  12. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  13. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  14. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  15. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  16. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  17. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  18. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  19. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  20. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  21. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  22. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  23. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  24. Beijing is the ________________ of China.

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

Answer key

  1. wind — moving air
  2. stock — shares
  3. straw — a straw man
  4. mate — to breed
  5. mate — a friend
  6. wind — to turn a key
  7. wind — moving air
  8. field — a subject
  9. mate — a partner
  10. straw — to clutch at straws
  11. straw — dry grass
  12. ruler — for measuring
  13. stock — goods
  14. ruler — for measuring
  15. field — for sport
  16. bowl — a dish
  17. bowl — to roll
  18. stock — a soup base
  19. bowl — a football final
  20. capital — money
  21. ruler — a monarch
  22. capital — a big letter
  23. field — farmland
  24. capital — a city

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