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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. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  3. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  4. The ________________ market has crashed.
  5. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  6. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  7. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  8. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  9. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  10. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  11. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  12. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  13. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  14. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  15. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  16. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  17. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  18. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  19. Don't do anything ________________.
  20. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  21. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  22. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  23. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  24. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.

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

Answer key

  1. bowl — to roll
  2. bowl — a football final
  3. bat — for baseball
  4. stock — shares
  5. capital — a city
  6. craft — boats
  7. wave — with your hand
  8. wave — a sudden rise
  9. bat — the animal
  10. rash — on the skin
  11. capital — money
  12. rash — a series
  13. craft — a skill
  14. wave — of the sea
  15. bat — in an idiom
  16. stock — goods
  17. present — a gift
  18. bowl — a dish
  19. rash — hasty
  20. present — the time now
  21. stock — a soup base
  22. present — there
  23. craft — a handicraft
  24. capital — a big letter

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