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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 ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  2. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  3. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  4. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  5. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  6. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  7. The ________________ market has crashed.
  8. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  9. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  10. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  11. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  12. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  13. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  14. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  15. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  16. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  17. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  18. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  19. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  20. Have you met the new head ________________?
  21. I'll be taking the ________________.
  22. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  23. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  24. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.

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

Answer key

  1. coach — a trainer
  2. stock — a soup base
  3. craft — a handicraft
  4. capital — a city
  5. bowl — a dish
  6. bowl — a football final
  7. stock — shares
  8. capital — a big letter
  9. coach — pulled by horses
  10. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  11. tube — in a tire
  12. craft — a skill
  13. shower — a meteor shower
  14. bowl — to roll
  15. kid — child
  16. tube — a container
  17. shower — to wash
  18. shower — rain
  19. stock — goods
  20. coach — a trainer
  21. tube — the underground
  22. craft — boats
  23. capital — money
  24. kid — to tease

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