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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. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  2. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  3. The ________________ market has crashed.
  4. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  5. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  6. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  7. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  8. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  9. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  10. Did you ________________ the button?
  11. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  12. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  13. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  14. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  15. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  16. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  17. The ball is in your ________________.
  18. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  19. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  20. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  21. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  22. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  23. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  24. Don't do anything ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. file — a tool
  2. capital — money
  3. stock — shares
  4. vault — a safe
  5. vault — an arched ceiling
  6. stock — goods
  7. vault — in gymnastics
  8. root — of a plant
  9. file — a line of people
  10. press — to push
  11. file — a document
  12. stock — a soup base
  13. press — a publisher
  14. capital — a big letter
  15. root — of a word
  16. root — the cause
  17. court — for sport
  18. court — of law
  19. rash — on the skin
  20. capital — a city
  21. rash — a series
  22. court — of a king
  23. press — newspapers
  24. rash — hasty

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