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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 King held a masked ________________.
  2. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  3. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  4. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  5. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  6. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  7. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  8. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  9. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  10. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  11. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  12. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  13. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  14. The ________________ market has crashed.
  15. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  16. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  17. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  18. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  19. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  20. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  21. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  22. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  23. How do you ________________ your surname?
  24. Beijing is the ________________ of China.

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

Answer key

  1. ball — a dance
  2. capital — money
  3. spell — a short time
  4. stock — goods
  5. cue — a signal
  6. stick — a piece of wood
  7. race — humankind
  8. clip — a video
  9. clip — to cut
  10. capital — a big letter
  11. clip — for paper
  12. ball — a round shape
  13. stick — to attach or keep to
  14. stock — shares
  15. race — the arms race
  16. cue — for pool
  17. spell — magic
  18. ball — a great time
  19. stock — a soup base
  20. race — a contest
  21. cue — a hint
  22. stick — a piece of wood
  23. spell — letters
  24. capital — a city

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