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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 116 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. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  2. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  3. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  4. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  5. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  6. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  7. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  8. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  9. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  10. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  11. How do you ________________ your surname?
  12. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  13. The ________________ market has crashed.
  14. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  15. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  16. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  17. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  18. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  19. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  20. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  21. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  22. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  23. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  24. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. stock — a soup base
  2. cap — a lid
  3. clip — to cut
  4. capital — a big letter
  5. capital — a city
  6. present — there
  7. present — the time now
  8. clip — for paper
  9. deal — a big deal
  10. present — a gift
  11. spell — letters
  12. cap — of ice
  13. stock — shares
  14. staff — employees
  15. spell — a short time
  16. deal — to handle
  17. stock — goods
  18. spell — magic
  19. staff — employees
  20. cap — a hat
  21. staff — a stick
  22. clip — a video
  23. deal — an agreement
  24. capital — money

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