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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. Have you settled on a ________________?
  2. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  3. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  4. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  5. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  6. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  7. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  8. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  9. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  10. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  11. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  12. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  13. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  14. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  15. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  16. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  17. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  18. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  19. When are we going to ________________?
  20. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  21. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  22. The ________________ market has crashed.
  23. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  24. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.

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

Answer key

  1. date — on the calendar
  2. stock — a soup base
  3. capital — a big letter
  4. track — to keep track
  5. fine — all right
  6. fine — high quality
  7. land — a country
  8. capital — a city
  9. date — on the calendar
  10. stock — goods
  11. can — a tin
  12. racket — for tennis
  13. land — ground
  14. capital — money
  15. racket — a loud noise
  16. fine — a penalty
  17. can — to be able to
  18. can — a tin
  19. land — to come down
  20. track — a path
  21. track — a song
  22. stock — shares
  23. racket — for tennis
  24. date — the fruit

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