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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. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  2. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  3. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  4. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  5. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  6. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  7. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  8. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  9. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  10. I've got to change the light ________________.
  11. The ________________ market has crashed.
  12. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  13. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  14. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  15. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  16. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  17. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  18. The light ________________ burned out.
  19. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  20. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  21. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  22. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  23. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  24. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.

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

Answer key

  1. dip — to sink
  2. mine — for digging
  3. stock — goods
  4. mine — belonging to me
  5. stock — a soup base
  6. present — a gift
  7. band — a ring
  8. capital — a big letter
  9. mine — an explosive
  10. bulb — for light
  11. stock — shares
  12. chair — a professorship
  13. chair — a leader
  14. dip — a sauce
  15. capital — a city
  16. band — a music group
  17. chair — to sit on
  18. bulb — for light
  19. bulb — of a plant
  20. dip — to dunk
  21. band — a rubber band
  22. capital — money
  23. present — the time now
  24. present — there

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