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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 120 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. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  2. When will it ________________ you to start?
  3. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  4. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  5. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  6. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  7. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  8. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  9. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  10. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  11. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  12. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  13. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  14. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  15. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  16. The ________________ market has crashed.
  17. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  18. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  19. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  20. He works in a ________________ mill.
  21. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  22. She's very handy with a ________________.
  23. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  24. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.

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

Answer key

  1. stock — a soup base
  2. suit — to fit
  3. wax — for sculpting
  4. capital — a big letter
  5. stock — goods
  6. capital — money
  7. fork — to eat with
  8. fork — in a road
  9. wax — to grow
  10. trunk — of an elephant
  11. suit — in cards
  12. clip — for paper
  13. clip — to cut
  14. fork — a garden tool
  15. wax — in the ear
  16. stock — shares
  17. clip — a video
  18. trunk — of a car
  19. trunk — of a tree
  20. saw — the tool
  21. capital — a city
  22. saw — the tool
  23. suit — clothes
  24. saw — past of 'see'

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