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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. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  2. He is an ace ________________.
  3. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  4. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  5. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  6. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  7. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  8. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  9. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  10. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  11. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  12. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  13. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  14. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  15. The ________________ market has crashed.
  16. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  17. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  18. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  19. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  20. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  21. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  22. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  23. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  24. Biology is a ________________ of science.

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

Answer key

  1. fine — high quality
  2. pitcher — in baseball
  3. branch — of a bank
  4. pass — a permit
  5. leaves — to go away
  6. leaves — lets stay
  7. pass — to succeed
  8. capital — money
  9. capital — a city
  10. kid — to tease
  11. fine — all right
  12. pitcher — a jug
  13. branch — of a tree
  14. kid — child
  15. stock — shares
  16. pitcher — a jug
  17. leaves — of a tree
  18. stock — goods
  19. stock — a soup base
  20. fine — a penalty
  21. capital — a big letter
  22. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  23. pass — to spend time
  24. branch — a division

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