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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. Don't do anything ________________.
  2. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  3. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  4. I've got to change the light ________________.
  5. The ________________ market has crashed.
  6. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  7. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  8. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  9. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  10. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  11. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  12. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  13. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  14. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  15. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  16. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  17. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  18. There's no middle ________________.
  19. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  20. The ________________ went through the wall.
  21. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  22. The light ________________ burned out.
  23. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  24. It's one o'clock ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. rash — hasty
  2. capital — a city
  3. capital — money
  4. bulb — for light
  5. stock — shares
  6. sharp — clever
  7. rash — a series
  8. stock — a soup base
  9. capital — a big letter
  10. ground — the earth
  11. ground — crushed
  12. sharp — with an edge
  13. row — a quarrel
  14. rash — on the skin
  15. bulb — of a plant
  16. row — a line
  17. nail — for a hammer
  18. ground — a position
  19. row — to paddle
  20. nail — for a hammer
  21. nail — on a finger
  22. bulb — for light
  23. stock — goods
  24. sharp — exactly

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