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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. Have you met the new head ________________?
  2. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  3. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  4. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  5. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  6. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  7. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  8. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  9. The ________________ market has crashed.
  10. My mare is ________________ in color.
  11. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  12. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  13. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  14. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  15. False peace will not ________________.
  16. Have you settled on a ________________?
  17. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  18. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  19. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  20. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  21. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  22. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  23. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  24. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. coach — a trainer
  2. bay — to keep at bay
  3. last — finally
  4. coach — a trainer
  5. stock — a soup base
  6. file — a document
  7. bass — low music
  8. bass — the instrument
  9. stock — shares
  10. bay — a horse colour
  11. file — a tool
  12. stock — goods
  13. capital — a big letter
  14. file — a line of people
  15. last — to go on
  16. date — on the calendar
  17. coach — pulled by horses
  18. last — final
  19. date — the fruit
  20. capital — money
  21. capital — a city
  22. date — on the calendar
  23. bay — a part of the sea
  24. bass — the fish

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