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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. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  3. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  4. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  5. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  6. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  7. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  8. Did you ________________ the button?
  9. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  10. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  11. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  12. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  13. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  14. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  15. The ball is in your ________________.
  16. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  17. The ________________ market has crashed.
  18. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  19. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  20. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  21. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  22. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  23. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  24. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.

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

Answer key

  1. capital — a big letter
  2. net — for catching
  3. stock — a soup base
  4. shower — to wash
  5. court — of law
  6. stock — goods
  7. face — to point toward
  8. press — to push
  9. net — after costs
  10. court — of a king
  11. shower — rain
  12. shower — a meteor shower
  13. safe — a strongbox
  14. face — part of the head
  15. court — for sport
  16. net — in sport
  17. stock — shares
  18. safe — out of danger
  19. capital — a city
  20. press — a publisher
  21. safe — out of danger
  22. press — newspapers
  23. capital — money
  24. face — to confront

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