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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. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  2. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  3. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  4. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  5. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  6. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  7. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  8. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  9. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  10. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  11. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  12. The ________________ went through the wall.
  13. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  14. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  15. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  16. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  17. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  18. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  19. The ________________ market has crashed.
  20. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  21. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  22. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  23. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  24. The ball is in your ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. capital — a city
  2. capital — money
  3. staff — employees
  4. hand — part of the body
  5. court — of a king
  6. stick — a piece of wood
  7. stick — a piece of wood
  8. stick — to attach or keep to
  9. stock — a soup base
  10. capital — a big letter
  11. field — for sport
  12. nail — for a hammer
  13. field — farmland
  14. court — of law
  15. nail — on a finger
  16. field — a subject
  17. hand — help
  18. staff — a stick
  19. stock — shares
  20. nail — for a hammer
  21. hand — in cards
  22. staff — employees
  23. stock — goods
  24. court — for sport

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