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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. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  2. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  3. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  4. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  5. The ________________ market has crashed.
  6. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  7. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  8. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  9. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  10. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  11. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  12. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  13. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  14. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  15. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  16. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  17. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  18. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  19. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  20. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  21. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  22. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  23. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  24. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.

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

Answer key

  1. capital — money
  2. wax — to grow
  3. deal — a big deal
  4. object — to protest
  5. stock — shares
  6. capital — a big letter
  7. deal — an agreement
  8. spring — of water
  9. pitch — completely
  10. prune — to trim
  11. spring — the season
  12. deal — to handle
  13. prune — to trim
  14. capital — a city
  15. pitch — a sports field
  16. wax — for sculpting
  17. stock — a soup base
  18. object — an aim
  19. object — a thing
  20. wax — in the ear
  21. spring — a coil
  22. pitch — a sales talk
  23. prune — the fruit
  24. stock — goods

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