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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 ________________ market has crashed.
  2. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  3. Did you ________________ the meat?
  4. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  5. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  6. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  7. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  8. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  9. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  10. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  11. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  12. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  13. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  14. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  15. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  16. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  17. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  18. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  19. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  20. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  21. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  22. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  23. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  24. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.

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

Answer key

  1. stock — shares
  2. capital — a big letter
  3. season — to add flavour
  4. stock — goods
  5. firm — a company
  6. clip — for paper
  7. wax — to grow
  8. firm — decided
  9. branch — of a tree
  10. branch — of a bank
  11. capital — money
  12. stock — a soup base
  13. capital — a city
  14. clip — to cut
  15. wax — for sculpting
  16. cue — a signal
  17. branch — a division
  18. wax — in the ear
  19. clip — a video
  20. firm — steady
  21. season — in sport
  22. cue — a hint
  23. season — of the year
  24. cue — for pool

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