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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. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  2. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  3. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  4. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  5. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  6. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  7. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  8. The ________________ market has crashed.
  9. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  10. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  11. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  12. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  13. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  14. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  15. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  16. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  17. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  18. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  19. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  20. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  21. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  22. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  23. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  24. The flowers bloom in the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. capital — a big letter
  2. scale — in music
  3. fan — to cool the air
  4. fan — a supporter
  5. fan — a supporter
  6. craft — a handicraft
  7. lie — an untruth
  8. stock — shares
  9. scale — size or range
  10. stock — a soup base
  11. craft — a skill
  12. spring — of water
  13. lie — to recline
  14. stem — a stem cell
  15. stem — of a plant
  16. scale — for weighing
  17. spring — a coil
  18. stem — to come from
  19. capital — a city
  20. lie — an untruth
  21. capital — money
  22. craft — boats
  23. stock — goods
  24. spring — the season

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