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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. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  2. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  3. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  4. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  5. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  6. The ________________ market has crashed.
  7. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  8. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  9. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  10. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  11. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  12. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  13. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  14. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  15. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  16. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  17. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  18. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.

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

Answer key

  1. capital — a city
  2. fork — a garden tool
  3. kid — to tease
  4. stock — a soup base
  5. deal — an agreement
  6. stock — shares
  7. stock — goods
  8. fine — high quality
  9. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  10. fork — to eat with
  11. deal — a big deal
  12. fine — a penalty
  13. capital — money
  14. fine — all right
  15. kid — child
  16. deal — to handle
  17. fork — in a road
  18. capital — a big letter

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