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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 beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  2. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  3. He works in a ________________ mill.
  4. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  5. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  6. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  7. The ________________ market has crashed.
  8. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  9. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  10. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  11. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  12. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  13. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  14. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  15. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  16. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  17. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  18. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  19. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  20. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  21. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  22. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  23. She's very handy with a ________________.
  24. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.

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

Answer key

  1. capital — a big letter
  2. mark — a grade
  3. saw — the tool
  4. capital — a city
  5. capital — money
  6. row — a line
  7. stock — shares
  8. branch — a division
  9. mark — to pay attention
  10. branch — of a bank
  11. row — to paddle
  12. bark — a dog's sound
  13. stock — a soup base
  14. pit — a hole
  15. branch — of a tree
  16. bark — of a tree
  17. pit — in a race
  18. bark — to shout
  19. mark — a trace
  20. pit — a fruit stone
  21. stock — goods
  22. row — a quarrel
  23. saw — the tool
  24. saw — past of 'see'

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