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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. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  2. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  3. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  4. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  5. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  6. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  7. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  8. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  9. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  10. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  11. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  12. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  13. The ________________ market has crashed.
  14. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  15. The tickets are free of ________________.
  16. He is an ace ________________.
  17. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  18. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  19. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  20. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  21. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  22. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  23. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  24. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.

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

Answer key

  1. capital — a big letter
  2. charge — electricity
  3. capital — a city
  4. mouse — the animal
  5. stock — a soup base
  6. wind — moving air
  7. mouse — for a computer
  8. fall — the season
  9. wind — moving air
  10. pitcher — a jug
  11. wind — to turn a key
  12. capital — money
  13. stock — shares
  14. safe — out of danger
  15. charge — a price
  16. pitcher — in baseball
  17. mouse — the animal
  18. stock — goods
  19. pitcher — a jug
  20. fall — to drop
  21. safe — a strongbox
  22. charge — in control
  23. safe — out of danger
  24. fall — to drop

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