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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 124 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. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  3. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  4. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  5. Have you met the new head ________________?
  6. Have you settled on a ________________?
  7. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  8. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  9. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  10. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  11. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  12. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  13. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  14. The ________________ market has crashed.
  15. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  16. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  17. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  18. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  19. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  20. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  21. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  22. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  23. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  24. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.

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

Answer key

  1. stock — a soup base
  2. capital — a big letter
  3. coach — a trainer
  4. scale — for weighing
  5. coach — a trainer
  6. date — on the calendar
  7. net — in sport
  8. scale — size or range
  9. capital — money
  10. ruler — for measuring
  11. date — the fruit
  12. kid — to tease
  13. ruler — a monarch
  14. stock — shares
  15. capital — a city
  16. net — for catching
  17. date — on the calendar
  18. ruler — for measuring
  19. stock — goods
  20. net — after costs
  21. kid — child
  22. coach — pulled by horses
  23. scale — in music
  24. kid — young goat (kid gloves)

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