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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. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  2. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  3. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  4. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  5. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  6. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  7. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  8. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  9. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  10. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  11. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  12. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  13. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  14. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  15. My mare is ________________ in color.
  16. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  17. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  18. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  19. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  20. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  21. The ________________ market has crashed.
  22. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  23. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  24. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.

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

Answer key

  1. bat — in an idiom
  2. snap — to click
  3. stock — a soup base
  4. bay — a part of the sea
  5. leaves — to go away
  6. capital — a city
  7. leaves — lets stay
  8. leaves — of a tree
  9. snap — to snap out of it
  10. rock — to move gently
  11. rock — music
  12. wind — moving air
  13. snap — to speak sharply
  14. rock — a stone
  15. bay — a horse colour
  16. capital — money
  17. bay — to keep at bay
  18. stock — goods
  19. wind — to turn a key
  20. bat — for baseball
  21. stock — shares
  22. wind — moving air
  23. capital — a big letter
  24. bat — the animal

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