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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 120 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. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  2. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  3. David sat on the ________________.
  4. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  5. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  6. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  7. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  8. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  9. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  10. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  11. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  12. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  13. I'll be taking the ________________.
  14. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  15. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  16. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  17. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  18. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  19. The ________________ market has crashed.
  20. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  21. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  22. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  23. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  24. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.

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

Answer key

  1. craft — boats
  2. capital — a city
  3. swing — to play on
  4. stem — to come from
  5. stock — goods
  6. scale — in music
  7. scale — for weighing
  8. tube — in a tire
  9. swing — in golf
  10. craft — a handicraft
  11. capital — money
  12. rest — a break
  13. tube — the underground
  14. swing — music
  15. stem — a stem cell
  16. stock — a soup base
  17. capital — a big letter
  18. scale — size or range
  19. stock — shares
  20. rest — what's left
  21. rest — what's left
  22. craft — a skill
  23. stem — of a plant
  24. tube — a container

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