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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. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  2. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  3. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  4. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  5. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  6. False peace will not ________________.
  7. How do you ________________ your surname?
  8. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  9. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  10. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  11. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  12. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  13. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  14. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  15. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  16. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  17. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  18. The ________________ market has crashed.

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

Answer key

  1. mark — a grade
  2. capital — a city
  3. cap — a lid
  4. capital — money
  5. spell — magic
  6. last — to go on
  7. spell — letters
  8. cap — a hat
  9. mark — a trace
  10. last — finally
  11. capital — a big letter
  12. cap — of ice
  13. stock — a soup base
  14. mark — to pay attention
  15. spell — a short time
  16. last — final
  17. stock — goods
  18. stock — shares

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