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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 water is too ________________.
  2. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  3. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  4. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  5. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  6. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  7. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  8. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  9. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  10. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  11. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  12. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  13. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  14. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  15. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  16. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  17. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  18. The ________________ market has crashed.
  19. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  20. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  21. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  22. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  23. Have you met the new head ________________?
  24. What's the difference between broth and ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. cold — not warm
  2. row — a quarrel
  3. row — to paddle
  4. deal — an agreement
  5. deal — to handle
  6. cold — the Cold War
  7. capital — a city
  8. mark — to pay attention
  9. capital — a big letter
  10. firm — a company
  11. capital — money
  12. mark — a grade
  13. deal — a big deal
  14. firm — steady
  15. stock — goods
  16. coach — pulled by horses
  17. coach — a trainer
  18. stock — shares
  19. firm — decided
  20. row — a line
  21. mark — a trace
  22. cold — an illness
  23. coach — a trainer
  24. stock — a soup base

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