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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. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  2. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  3. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  4. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  5. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  6. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  7. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  8. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  9. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  10. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  11. How do you ________________ your surname?
  12. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  13. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  14. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  15. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  16. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  17. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  18. False peace will not ________________.
  19. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  20. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  21. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  22. The ________________ market has crashed.
  23. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  24. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?

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

Answer key

  1. capital — a big letter
  2. rock — to move gently
  3. spell — magic
  4. stock — goods
  5. cap — of ice
  6. mark — a grade
  7. capital — money
  8. mark — a trace
  9. capital — a city
  10. pitch — completely
  11. spell — letters
  12. cap — a lid
  13. mark — to pay attention
  14. last — final
  15. last — finally
  16. pitch — a sales talk
  17. rock — a stone
  18. last — to go on
  19. stock — a soup base
  20. cap — a hat
  21. spell — a short time
  22. stock — shares
  23. pitch — a sports field
  24. rock — music

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