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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. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  2. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  3. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  4. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  5. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  6. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  7. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  8. That was ________________ to happen.
  9. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  10. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  11. The ________________ market has crashed.
  12. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  13. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  14. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  15. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  16. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  17. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  18. The ________________ went through the wall.
  19. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  20. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  21. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  22. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  23. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  24. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.

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

Answer key

  1. fan — a supporter
  2. capital — money
  3. chest — a box
  4. stock — goods
  5. fan — a supporter
  6. stock — a soup base
  7. chest — of your body
  8. bound — certain
  9. nail — on a finger
  10. nail — for a hammer
  11. stock — shares
  12. chest — of your body
  13. row — to paddle
  14. row — a quarrel
  15. fan — to cool the air
  16. club — for dancing
  17. row — a line
  18. nail — for a hammer
  19. club — a group
  20. capital — a city
  21. bound — obliged
  22. club — for golf
  23. capital — a big letter
  24. bound — tied together

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