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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. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  2. The ________________ market has crashed.
  3. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  4. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  5. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  6. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  7. I'll be taking the ________________.
  8. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  9. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  10. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  11. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  12. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  13. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  14. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  15. What do you think of the new ________________?
  16. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  17. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  18. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  19. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  20. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  21. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  22. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  23. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  24. Don't do anything ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. capital — money
  2. stock — shares
  3. net — for catching
  4. net — after costs
  5. stock — goods
  6. racket — for tennis
  7. tube — the underground
  8. racket — a loud noise
  9. mine — an explosive
  10. cabinet — ministers
  11. racket — for tennis
  12. mine — for digging
  13. tube — a container
  14. capital — a city
  15. cabinet — ministers
  16. capital — a big letter
  17. cabinet — a cupboard
  18. stock — a soup base
  19. tube — in a tire
  20. mine — belonging to me
  21. net — in sport
  22. rash — on the skin
  23. rash — a series
  24. rash — hasty

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