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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. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  2. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  3. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  4. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  5. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  6. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  7. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  8. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  9. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  10. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  11. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  12. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  13. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  14. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  15. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  16. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  17. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  18. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  19. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  20. Have you found your soul ________________?
  21. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  22. The ________________ market has crashed.
  23. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  24. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.

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

Answer key

  1. stock — a soup base
  2. file — a tool
  3. mate — to breed
  4. spring — of water
  5. pit — in a race
  6. lean — thin
  7. lean — to bend
  8. capital — money
  9. pit — a hole
  10. mate — a friend
  11. spring — the season
  12. lean — to rest against
  13. mark — to pay attention
  14. mark — a trace
  15. capital — a city
  16. file — a document
  17. pit — a fruit stone
  18. file — a line of people
  19. capital — a big letter
  20. mate — a partner
  21. spring — a coil
  22. stock — shares
  23. mark — a grade
  24. stock — goods

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

Make a worksheet (0 words)

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