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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. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  2. The ________________ market has crashed.
  3. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  4. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  5. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  6. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  7. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  8. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  9. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  10. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  11. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  12. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  13. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  14. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  15. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  16. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  17. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  18. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  19. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  20. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  21. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  22. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  23. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  24. The players ran onto the football ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. rock — to move gently
  2. stock — shares
  3. rock — a stone
  4. pound — to hit hard
  5. chest — of your body
  6. chest — a box
  7. current — of water
  8. pitch — completely
  9. current — electric
  10. chest — of your body
  11. stock — a soup base
  12. stock — goods
  13. capital — a city
  14. current — happening now
  15. capital — a big letter
  16. pound — for dogs
  17. pitch — a sales talk
  18. pound — a weight
  19. root — the cause
  20. capital — money
  21. rock — music
  22. root — of a plant
  23. root — of a word
  24. pitch — a sports field

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