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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 116 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 cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  2. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  3. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  4. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  5. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  6. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  7. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  8. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  9. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  10. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  11. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  12. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  13. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  14. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  15. The ________________ market has crashed.
  16. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  17. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  18. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  19. When will it ________________ you to start?
  20. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  21. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  22. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  23. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  24. That was a fun ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. suit — clothes
  2. pound — to hit hard
  3. fork — in a road
  4. capital — money
  5. pound — a weight
  6. capital — a big letter
  7. stock — a soup base
  8. straw — dry grass
  9. bat — in an idiom
  10. suit — in cards
  11. stock — goods
  12. straw — to clutch at straws
  13. fork — a garden tool
  14. straw — a straw man
  15. stock — shares
  16. bat — for baseball
  17. pound — for dogs
  18. bat — the animal
  19. suit — to fit
  20. fork — to eat with
  21. capital — a city
  22. game — a kind of play
  23. game — wild animals
  24. game — a match

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