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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. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  2. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  3. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  4. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  5. That must've been a ________________.
  6. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  7. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  8. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  9. The ball is in your ________________.
  10. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  11. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  12. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  13. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  14. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  15. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  16. The ________________ market has crashed.
  17. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  18. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  19. There's no middle ________________.
  20. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  21. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  22. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  23. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  24. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.

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

Answer key

  1. foot — the bottom
  2. capital — money
  3. file — a document
  4. stock — goods
  5. rush — a thrill
  6. capital — a city
  7. foot — a measure
  8. capital — a big letter
  9. court — for sport
  10. ground — the earth
  11. file — a line of people
  12. file — a tool
  13. foot — part of the body
  14. field — a subject
  15. ground — crushed
  16. stock — shares
  17. rush — hurry
  18. stock — a soup base
  19. ground — a position
  20. field — farmland
  21. field — for sport
  22. rush — to hurry
  23. court — of law
  24. court — of a king

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