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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 120 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 ________________ market has crashed.
  2. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  3. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  4. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  5. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  6. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  7. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  8. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  9. When will it ________________ you to start?
  10. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  11. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  12. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  13. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  14. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  15. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  16. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  17. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  18. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  19. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  20. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  21. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  22. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  23. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  24. This looks like a gunshot ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. stock — shares
  2. bowl — a dish
  3. capital — a big letter
  4. pound — for dogs
  5. scale — size or range
  6. wound — past of 'wind'
  7. scale — in music
  8. suit — clothes
  9. suit — to fit
  10. scale — for weighing
  11. bowl — to roll
  12. suit — in cards
  13. patient — calm and waiting
  14. patient — a sick person
  15. capital — money
  16. patient — a sick person
  17. capital — a city
  18. pound — a weight
  19. stock — a soup base
  20. wound — an injury
  21. pound — to hit hard
  22. stock — goods
  23. bowl — a football final
  24. wound — an injury

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