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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. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  2. The ________________ market has crashed.
  3. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  4. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  5. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  6. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  7. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  8. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  9. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  10. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  11. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  12. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  13. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  14. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  15. False peace will not ________________.
  16. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  17. I can't ________________ this cold.
  18. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  19. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  20. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  21. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  22. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  23. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  24. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.

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

Answer key

  1. capital — money
  2. stock — shares
  3. present — a gift
  4. stock — goods
  5. stand — for spectators
  6. chip — in a computer
  7. last — final
  8. present — there
  9. stand — on your feet
  10. capital — a big letter
  11. mine — for digging
  12. last — finally
  13. mine — an explosive
  14. vault — in gymnastics
  15. last — to go on
  16. vault — a safe
  17. stand — to bear
  18. mine — belonging to me
  19. capital — a city
  20. chip — for betting
  21. stock — a soup base
  22. chip — to eat
  23. vault — an arched ceiling
  24. present — the time now

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