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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 116 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. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  2. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  3. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  4. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  5. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  6. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  7. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  8. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  9. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  10. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  11. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  12. The ________________ market has crashed.
  13. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  14. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  15. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  16. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  17. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  18. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  19. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  20. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  21. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  22. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  23. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  24. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. rest — a break
  2. capital — a city
  3. branch — of a bank
  4. stock — a soup base
  5. capital — a big letter
  6. prune — to trim
  7. rock — music
  8. branch — a division
  9. prune — to trim
  10. snap — to snap out of it
  11. prune — the fruit
  12. stock — shares
  13. rest — what's left
  14. capital — money
  15. straw — a straw man
  16. straw — dry grass
  17. rest — what's left
  18. snap — to speak sharply
  19. stock — goods
  20. rock — a stone
  21. rock — to move gently
  22. snap — to click
  23. branch — of a tree
  24. straw — to clutch at straws

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