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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. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  2. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  3. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  4. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  5. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  6. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  7. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  8. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  9. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  10. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  11. The ________________ market has crashed.
  12. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  13. The water is too ________________.
  14. What do you think of the new ________________?
  15. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  16. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  17. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  18. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  19. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  20. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  21. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  22. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  23. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  24. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — the Cold War
  2. snap — to click
  3. root — the cause
  4. capital — a big letter
  5. capital — a city
  6. toast — a drink to someone
  7. stock — a soup base
  8. cabinet — ministers
  9. bear — to put up with
  10. toast — the most admired
  11. stock — shares
  12. capital — money
  13. cold — not warm
  14. cabinet — ministers
  15. cabinet — a cupboard
  16. toast — bread
  17. root — of a word
  18. bear — the animal
  19. cold — an illness
  20. bear — the animal
  21. snap — to snap out of it
  22. stock — goods
  23. snap — to speak sharply
  24. root — of a plant

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