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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. The ________________ market has crashed.
  2. I can't ________________ this cold.
  3. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  4. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  5. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  6. Have you found your soul ________________?
  7. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  8. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  9. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  10. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  11. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  12. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  13. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  14. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  15. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  16. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  17. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  18. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  19. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  20. When are we going to ________________?
  21. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  22. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  23. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  24. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.

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

Answer key

  1. stock — shares
  2. stand — to bear
  3. capital — a city
  4. land — a country
  5. club — for dancing
  6. mate — a partner
  7. mate — to breed
  8. capital — a big letter
  9. capital — money
  10. land — ground
  11. stock — a soup base
  12. stock — goods
  13. club — a group
  14. stand — for spectators
  15. mate — a friend
  16. wind — moving air
  17. club — for golf
  18. trunk — of an elephant
  19. wind — moving air
  20. land — to come down
  21. stand — on your feet
  22. wind — to turn a key
  23. trunk — of a car
  24. trunk — of a tree

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