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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. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  2. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  3. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  4. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  5. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  6. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  7. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  8. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  9. He is an ace ________________.
  10. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  11. When was this ________________ built?
  12. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  13. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  14. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  15. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  16. The ________________ market has crashed.
  17. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  18. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  19. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  20. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  21. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  22. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  23. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  24. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.

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

Answer key

  1. rest — a break
  2. mark — a grade
  3. rest — what's left
  4. pitcher — a jug
  5. wind — moving air
  6. pitcher — a jug
  7. mine — an explosive
  8. rest — what's left
  9. pitcher — in baseball
  10. wind — moving air
  11. temple — a place of worship
  12. capital — money
  13. temple — a place of worship
  14. mark — a trace
  15. mine — for digging
  16. stock — shares
  17. wind — to turn a key
  18. capital — a city
  19. mine — belonging to me
  20. stock — a soup base
  21. temple — side of the head
  22. capital — a big letter
  23. stock — goods
  24. mark — to pay attention

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