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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. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  2. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  3. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  4. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  5. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  6. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  7. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  8. Don't do anything ________________.
  9. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  10. The ________________ market has crashed.
  11. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  12. I'll be taking the ________________.
  13. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  14. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  15. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  16. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  17. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  18. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. capital — money
  2. tube — in a tire
  3. stock — goods
  4. capital — a big letter
  5. rash — on the skin
  6. racket — a loud noise
  7. stock — a soup base
  8. rash — hasty
  9. racket — for tennis
  10. stock — shares
  11. race — a contest
  12. tube — the underground
  13. tube — a container
  14. capital — a city
  15. racket — for tennis
  16. rash — a series
  17. race — the arms race
  18. race — humankind

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