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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. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  2. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  3. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  4. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  5. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  6. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  7. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  8. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  9. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  10. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  11. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  12. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  13. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  14. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  15. I can't ________________ this cold.
  16. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  17. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  18. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  19. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  20. Did you ________________ the meat?
  21. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  22. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  23. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  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 city
  2. stock — goods
  3. capital — a big letter
  4. perch — the fish
  5. squash — to crush
  6. club — for dancing
  7. season — in sport
  8. squash — the sport
  9. squash — the vegetable
  10. object — an aim
  11. perch — for a bird
  12. stock — a soup base
  13. perch — for a bird
  14. club — for golf
  15. stand — to bear
  16. capital — money
  17. stand — on your feet
  18. season — of the year
  19. object — a thing
  20. season — to add flavour
  21. club — a group
  22. stand — for spectators
  23. object — to protest
  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