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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. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  2. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  3. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  4. The ________________ market has crashed.
  5. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  6. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  7. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  8. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  9. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  10. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  11. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  12. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  13. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  14. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  15. The ball is in your ________________.
  16. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  17. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  18. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  19. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  20. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  21. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  22. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  23. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  24. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.

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

Answer key

  1. wound — past of 'wind'
  2. stock — a soup base
  3. pitch — a sports field
  4. stock — shares
  5. craft — a handicraft
  6. tear — from crying
  7. capital — a city
  8. tear — to rip
  9. pitch — completely
  10. wound — an injury
  11. pitch — a sales talk
  12. vault — in gymnastics
  13. court — of law
  14. vault — an arched ceiling
  15. court — for sport
  16. craft — a skill
  17. stock — goods
  18. wound — an injury
  19. craft — boats
  20. tear — from crying
  21. vault — a safe
  22. capital — a big letter
  23. capital — money
  24. court — of a king

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