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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. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  2. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  3. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  4. Did you ________________ the button?
  5. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  6. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  7. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  8. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  9. It's one o'clock ________________.
  10. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  11. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  12. Don't do anything ________________.
  13. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  14. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  15. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  16. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  17. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  18. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  19. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  20. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  21. The ________________ market has crashed.
  22. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  23. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  24. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.

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

Answer key

  1. cap — a hat
  2. fan — a supporter
  3. fan — a supporter
  4. press — to push
  5. stock — goods
  6. march — music
  7. capital — money
  8. cap — a lid
  9. sharp — exactly
  10. capital — a city
  11. sharp — with an edge
  12. rash — hasty
  13. sharp — clever
  14. press — newspapers
  15. rash — a series
  16. cap — of ice
  17. stock — a soup base
  18. fan — to cool the air
  19. rash — on the skin
  20. march — the month
  21. stock — shares
  22. march — the month
  23. press — a publisher
  24. capital — a big letter

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