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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. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  3. False peace will not ________________.
  4. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  5. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  6. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  7. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  8. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  9. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  10. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  11. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  12. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  13. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  14. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  15. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  16. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  17. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  18. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  19. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  20. The tickets are free of ________________.
  21. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  22. The ________________ market has crashed.
  23. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  24. The old man leaned on his ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. stock — goods
  2. staff — employees
  3. last — to go on
  4. mine — for digging
  5. capital — a city
  6. stock — a soup base
  7. cue — a hint
  8. racket — for tennis
  9. racket — for tennis
  10. racket — a loud noise
  11. last — finally
  12. cue — for pool
  13. charge — electricity
  14. mine — an explosive
  15. last — final
  16. cue — a signal
  17. staff — employees
  18. mine — belonging to me
  19. capital — money
  20. charge — a price
  21. capital — a big letter
  22. stock — shares
  23. charge — in control
  24. staff — a stick

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