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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. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  2. What do you think of the new ________________?
  3. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  4. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  5. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  6. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  7. The ________________ market has crashed.
  8. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  9. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  10. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  11. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  12. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  13. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  14. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  15. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  16. The tickets are free of ________________.
  17. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  18. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  19. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  20. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  21. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  22. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  23. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  24. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.

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

Answer key

  1. bowl — to roll
  2. cabinet — ministers
  3. charge — in control
  4. rest — what's left
  5. field — for sport
  6. capital — a big letter
  7. stock — shares
  8. bowl — a dish
  9. bowl — a football final
  10. cabinet — a cupboard
  11. field — farmland
  12. stock — goods
  13. rock — music
  14. charge — electricity
  15. field — a subject
  16. charge — a price
  17. cabinet — ministers
  18. rock — a stone
  19. rock — to move gently
  20. rest — a break
  21. capital — a city
  22. capital — money
  23. stock — a soup base
  24. rest — what's left

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