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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. There's no middle ________________.
  2. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  3. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  4. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  5. The ________________ market has crashed.
  6. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  7. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  8. This piece is in a major ________________.
  9. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  10. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  11. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  12. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  13. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  14. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  15. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  16. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  17. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  18. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  19. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  20. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  21. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  22. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  23. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  24. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?

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

Answer key

  1. ground — a position
  2. capital — a city
  3. key — the most important part
  4. trunk — of a car
  5. stock — shares
  6. straw — a straw man
  7. straw — to clutch at straws
  8. key — in music
  9. wax — in the ear
  10. wax — to grow
  11. capital — money
  12. can — a tin
  13. trunk — of an elephant
  14. straw — dry grass
  15. trunk — of a tree
  16. ground — crushed
  17. can — a tin
  18. stock — goods
  19. stock — a soup base
  20. can — to be able to
  21. capital — a big letter
  22. ground — the earth
  23. wax — for sculpting
  24. key — for a lock

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