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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. What do you think of the new ________________?
  2. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  3. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  4. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  5. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  6. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  7. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  8. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  9. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  10. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  11. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  12. The tickets are free of ________________.
  13. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  14. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  15. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  16. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  17. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  18. This piece is in a major ________________.
  19. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  20. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  21. The ________________ market has crashed.
  22. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  23. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  24. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.

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

Answer key

  1. cabinet — ministers
  2. cabinet — ministers
  3. wind — to turn a key
  4. wind — moving air
  5. wound — past of 'wind'
  6. stock — goods
  7. stock — a soup base
  8. squash — the vegetable
  9. squash — to crush
  10. wound — an injury
  11. wound — an injury
  12. charge — a price
  13. wind — moving air
  14. squash — the sport
  15. march — the month
  16. cabinet — a cupboard
  17. key — for a lock
  18. key — in music
  19. charge — electricity
  20. key — the most important part
  21. stock — shares
  22. charge — in control
  23. march — the month
  24. march — music

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