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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. You don't need to ________________ round.
  2. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  3. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  4. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  5. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  6. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  7. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  8. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  9. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  10. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  11. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  12. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  13. It's one o'clock ________________.
  14. The ________________ market has crashed.
  15. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  16. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  17. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  18. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  19. That was ________________ to happen.
  20. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  21. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  22. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  23. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  24. We're almost out of ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. pop — to visit
  2. capital — a city
  3. ruler — for measuring
  4. capital — a big letter
  5. stock — a soup base
  6. fine — all right
  7. sharp — with an edge
  8. fine — high quality
  9. bound — tied together
  10. sharp — clever
  11. bound — obliged
  12. mine — an explosive
  13. sharp — exactly
  14. stock — shares
  15. capital — money
  16. ruler — for measuring
  17. stock — goods
  18. fine — a penalty
  19. bound — certain
  20. ruler — a monarch
  21. mine — for digging
  22. pop — music
  23. mine — belonging to me
  24. pop — soda

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