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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. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  2. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  3. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  4. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  5. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  6. The ________________ market has crashed.
  7. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  8. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  9. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  10. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  11. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  12. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  13. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  14. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  15. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  16. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  17. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  18. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  19. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  20. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  21. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  22. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  23. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  24. He took the fish out of the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. stock — a soup base
  2. bat — the animal
  3. patient — a sick person
  4. net — after costs
  5. march — the month
  6. stock — shares
  7. hide — animal skin
  8. race — a contest
  9. net — in sport
  10. patient — a sick person
  11. capital — money
  12. capital — a big letter
  13. march — the month
  14. capital — a city
  15. hide — to keep secret
  16. patient — calm and waiting
  17. bat — for baseball
  18. march — music
  19. hide — to keep secret
  20. race — the arms race
  21. bat — in an idiom
  22. stock — goods
  23. race — humankind
  24. net — for catching

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