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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. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  2. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  3. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  4. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  5. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  6. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  7. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  8. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  9. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  10. The water is too ________________.
  11. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  12. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  13. The ________________ market has crashed.
  14. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  15. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  16. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  17. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  18. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  19. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  20. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  21. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  22. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  23. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  24. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.

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

Answer key

  1. jam — in traffic
  2. capital — money
  3. jam — a tight spot
  4. stock — a soup base
  5. snap — to speak sharply
  6. jam — to spread on bread
  7. stock — goods
  8. dip — to dunk
  9. snap — to snap out of it
  10. cold — not warm
  11. march — music
  12. board — to get on
  13. stock — shares
  14. board — a flat piece
  15. board — a committee
  16. march — the month
  17. dip — a sauce
  18. cold — an illness
  19. march — the month
  20. cold — the Cold War
  21. dip — to sink
  22. capital — a big letter
  23. capital — a city
  24. snap — to click

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