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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. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  2. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  3. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  4. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  5. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  6. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  7. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  8. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  9. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  10. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  11. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  12. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  13. I can't ________________ this cold.
  14. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  15. Don't do anything ________________.
  16. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  17. The ________________ market has crashed.
  18. We're almost out of ________________.
  19. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  20. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  21. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  22. You don't need to ________________ round.
  23. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  24. I seem to be developing a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. capital — a city
  2. board — a committee
  3. stock — a soup base
  4. field — for sport
  5. field — farmland
  6. squash — the vegetable
  7. stand — for spectators
  8. board — to get on
  9. squash — to crush
  10. stock — goods
  11. capital — money
  12. capital — a big letter
  13. stand — to bear
  14. rash — a series
  15. rash — hasty
  16. board — a flat piece
  17. stock — shares
  18. pop — soda
  19. squash — the sport
  20. pop — music
  21. stand — on your feet
  22. pop — to visit
  23. field — a subject
  24. rash — on the skin

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