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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 116 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. There's no middle ________________.
  3. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  4. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  5. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  6. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  7. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  8. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  9. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  10. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  11. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  12. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  13. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  14. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  15. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  16. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  17. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  18. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  19. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  20. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  21. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  22. It's one o'clock ________________.
  23. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  24. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.

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

Answer key

  1. stock — shares
  2. ground — a position
  3. capital — a big letter
  4. stock — a soup base
  5. ground — the earth
  6. capital — a city
  7. degree — temperature
  8. sharp — with an edge
  9. vault — a safe
  10. mark — a trace
  11. sharp — clever
  12. lash — an eyelash
  13. mark — to pay attention
  14. ground — crushed
  15. lash — to lash out
  16. vault — an arched ceiling
  17. capital — money
  18. degree — an amount
  19. mark — a grade
  20. vault — in gymnastics
  21. lash — a whip stroke
  22. sharp — exactly
  23. stock — goods
  24. degree — from a university

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