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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. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  2. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  3. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  4. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  5. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  6. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  7. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  8. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  9. The ________________ market has crashed.
  10. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  11. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  12. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  13. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  14. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  15. The water is too ________________.
  16. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  17. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  18. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  19. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  20. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  21. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  22. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  23. Did you ________________ the meat?
  24. We ________________ up on opposing sides.

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

Answer key

  1. capital — money
  2. capital — a city
  3. vault — in gymnastics
  4. vault — an arched ceiling
  5. stock — a soup base
  6. stock — goods
  7. board — a committee
  8. wound — an injury
  9. stock — shares
  10. board — a flat piece
  11. wound — an injury
  12. cold — the Cold War
  13. scale — for weighing
  14. board — to get on
  15. cold — not warm
  16. vault — a safe
  17. scale — size or range
  18. scale — in music
  19. season — of the year
  20. capital — a big letter
  21. cold — an illness
  22. season — in sport
  23. season — to add flavour
  24. wound — past of 'wind'

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