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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 beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  2. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  3. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  4. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  5. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  6. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  7. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  8. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  9. That was a fun ________________.
  10. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  11. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  12. The King held a masked ________________.
  13. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  14. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  15. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  16. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  17. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  18. That must've been a ________________.
  19. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  20. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  21. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  22. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  23. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  24. The ________________ market has crashed.

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

Answer key

  1. capital — a big letter
  2. stock — a soup base
  3. capital — money
  4. fall — to drop
  5. ball — a great time
  6. calf — a young animal
  7. game — a kind of play
  8. capital — a city
  9. game — a match
  10. rush — to hurry
  11. pound — to hit hard
  12. ball — a dance
  13. pound — for dogs
  14. pound — a weight
  15. rush — hurry
  16. fall — the season
  17. fall — to drop
  18. rush — a thrill
  19. stock — goods
  20. calf — a young animal
  21. ball — a round shape
  22. game — wild animals
  23. calf — of the leg
  24. stock — shares

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