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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. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  2. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  3. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  4. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  5. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  6. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  7. Have you met the new head ________________?
  8. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  9. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  10. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  11. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  12. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  13. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  14. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  15. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  16. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  17. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  18. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  19. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  20. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  21. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  22. The ________________ market has crashed.
  23. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  24. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. stock — a soup base
  2. scale — in music
  3. capital — a big letter
  4. field — a subject
  5. capital — money
  6. bank — of a river
  7. coach — a trainer
  8. field — farmland
  9. bank — for money
  10. capital — a city
  11. march — the month
  12. march — the month
  13. scale — for weighing
  14. march — music
  15. stock — goods
  16. scale — size or range
  17. fine — high quality
  18. coach — a trainer
  19. fine — all right
  20. fine — a penalty
  21. coach — pulled by horses
  22. stock — shares
  23. bank — for money
  24. field — for sport

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