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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. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  4. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  5. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  6. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  7. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  8. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  9. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  10. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  11. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  12. When are we going to ________________?
  13. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  14. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  15. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  16. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  17. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  18. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  19. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  20. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  21. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  22. Did you ________________ the button?
  23. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  24. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.

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

Answer key

  1. capital — money
  2. stock — shares
  3. current — of water
  4. capital — a big letter
  5. current — electric
  6. press — a publisher
  7. land — a country
  8. stock — goods
  9. press — newspapers
  10. spring — the season
  11. staff — employees
  12. land — to come down
  13. current — happening now
  14. stock — a soup base
  15. object — a thing
  16. object — an aim
  17. land — ground
  18. object — to protest
  19. spring — a coil
  20. staff — a stick
  21. spring — of water
  22. press — to push
  23. capital — a city
  24. staff — employees

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