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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 120 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. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  2. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  3. The ________________ market has crashed.
  4. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  5. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  6. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  7. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  8. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  9. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  10. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  11. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  12. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  13. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  14. When are we going to ________________?
  15. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  16. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  17. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  18. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  19. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  20. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  21. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  22. How do you ________________ your surname?
  23. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  24. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. kid — to tease
  2. present — the time now
  3. stock — shares
  4. capital — a big letter
  5. rock — to move gently
  6. rock — a stone
  7. stock — a soup base
  8. present — a gift
  9. present — there
  10. land — a country
  11. spell — a short time
  12. capital — money
  13. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  14. land — to come down
  15. rock — music
  16. capital — a city
  17. race — humankind
  18. race — the arms race
  19. land — ground
  20. kid — child
  21. stock — goods
  22. spell — letters
  23. race — a contest
  24. spell — magic

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