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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. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  2. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  3. The ________________ market has crashed.
  4. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  5. David sat on the ________________.
  6. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  7. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  8. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  9. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  10. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  11. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  12. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  13. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  14. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  15. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  16. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  17. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  18. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  19. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  20. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  21. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  22. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  23. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  24. Beijing is the ________________ of China.

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

Answer key

  1. stock — goods
  2. swing — music
  3. stock — shares
  4. march — the month
  5. swing — to play on
  6. wind — moving air
  7. march — music
  8. fall — to drop
  9. capital — a big letter
  10. vault — in gymnastics
  11. chair — a leader
  12. fall — the season
  13. wind — moving air
  14. chair — to sit on
  15. chair — a professorship
  16. capital — money
  17. fall — to drop
  18. wind — to turn a key
  19. swing — in golf
  20. stock — a soup base
  21. vault — a safe
  22. march — the month
  23. vault — an arched ceiling
  24. capital — a city

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