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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. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  2. The ________________ market has crashed.
  3. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  4. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  5. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  6. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  7. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  8. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  9. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  10. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  11. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  12. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  13. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  14. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  15. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  16. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  17. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  18. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  19. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  20. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  21. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  22. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  23. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  24. What's the difference between broth and ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. capital — a city
  2. stock — shares
  3. bank — for money
  4. bowl — to roll
  5. branch — a division
  6. clip — for paper
  7. perch — for a bird
  8. bank — of a river
  9. clip — a video
  10. perch — for a bird
  11. stock — goods
  12. bowl — a football final
  13. foot — a measure
  14. perch — the fish
  15. bank — for money
  16. capital — a big letter
  17. foot — the bottom
  18. clip — to cut
  19. branch — of a tree
  20. foot — part of the body
  21. branch — of a bank
  22. bowl — a dish
  23. capital — money
  24. stock — a soup base

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