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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. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  3. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  4. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  5. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  6. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  7. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  8. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  9. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  10. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  11. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  12. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  13. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  14. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  15. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  16. The ________________ market has crashed.
  17. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  18. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  19. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  20. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  21. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  22. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  23. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  24. Where did you ________________ them?

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

Answer key

  1. capital — a big letter
  2. club — for golf
  3. capital — a city
  4. fan — to cool the air
  5. stock — a soup base
  6. band — a ring
  7. mug — a face
  8. race — humankind
  9. fan — a supporter
  10. band — a rubber band
  11. club — a group
  12. band — a music group
  13. mug — a cup
  14. leaves — of a tree
  15. leaves — to go away
  16. stock — shares
  17. race — a contest
  18. club — for dancing
  19. leaves — lets stay
  20. stock — goods
  21. capital — money
  22. race — the arms race
  23. fan — a supporter
  24. mug — to rob

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